Psoriasis - Prevention

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Wednesday, 28 November 2007

There is no way to prevent psoriasis. However, the following tips may improve symptoms or help reduce the number of psoriasis flare-ups.

Keep your skin moist and lubricated.
Avoid cold, dry climates. Cold weather may worsen symptoms, while hot, humid weather and sunlight may improve symptoms. (However, hot humid weather may worsen certain types of psoriasis.)
Avoid scratching and picking skin and skin injuries (cuts or scrapes). An injury to the skin can cause psoriasis patches to form anywhere on the body, including the site of the injury. This includes injuries to your nails or nearby skin while trimming your nails.
Avoid stress and anxiety. Stress may cause psoriasis to appear suddenly (flare) or can make symptoms worse, although this has not been proven in studies.
Avoid infection. Infections such as strep throat can cause psoriasis to appear suddenly (called guttate psoriasis), especially in children.
Try to avoid certain medications. Some, including beta-blockers and lithium, have been found to worsen psoriasis symptoms. Tell your doctor you have psoriasis when any medications are prescribed for you.
Limit alcohol. This may help control psoriasis, especially for men.
Don't smoke. Smoking may make you more likely to get psoriasis and may make it more severe. Smoking may also make your symptoms last longer.^5,⁹

VitaDocs Medical Reference from Healthwise

Last Updated: January 06, 2006

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