One of the forms of non-infectious chronic disease can be psoriasis on the hands. It causes a lot of inconvenience to a person. Due to the numerous plaques, it becomes more difficult for him to do household chores. The patient develops self-doubt, against the background of which develops isolation and social renunciation. With this diagnosis, psoriatic eruptions affect the fingers, palms, nails and other areas of the hands. It is very difficult to cope with the disease on your own. If a person intends to recover, he should seek help from a qualified specialist.
Causes of occurrence
Doctors identify various reasons for the formation of psoriatic rashes on the hands. In each case, individual treatment is required. To correctly determine the therapy, the doctor must find out the factor that led to the activation of the autoimmune disease. The reason for the development of psoriasis on the hands may lie in the following conditions:
- Impaired immune system;
- Psycho-emotional overstrain;
- Hereditary predisposition;
- Metabolic disorders;
- Poor nutrition
- Bad habits;
- Chronic skin diseases;
- Climate change;
- Intoxication of the body.
Psoriatic rashes on the hands are often caused by prolonged use of medications. If left untreated, plaque can spread to the joints, shoulders, and other parts of the body.
Symptoms
To find out in what form psoriasis manifests itself on the hands, you should look at the photos showing patients with this disease. Pictures in medical reference books and on thematic sites can be used to compare with rashes on your body that are not natural. Also, the disease can be recognized by its characteristic signs.
The symptoms of psoriasis on the hands are as follows:
- Redness of the skin of the upper extremities;
- Severe dryness;
- Swelling and thickening of the layers of the skin;
- Cracking of the formed pustules;
- Soreness in the affected area;
- Fusion of single rashes.
People who have a predisposition to the disease should definitely know what psoriasis looks like. Then they will be able to identify it in a timely manner and begin treatment, without waiting for the growth of a pathological rash.
Stages of the disease
It is much easier to cure psoriasis in the first stage of spread. To understand how to overcome psoriasis on the hands, you first need to find out at what stage of development it is.
In total, there are 3 main phases in the development of psoriasis, which is localized in the area of the hands:
- Progressive. Small rashes begin to appear on healthy skin. They have light scales in the center. Gradually, the rash grows, resulting in the formation of plaques;
- Stationary. The rash stops appearing. Their growth also stops. The surface that was affected by psoriasis begins to peel off;
- Regressive. The plaques become flat, stop peeling off strongly and gradually dissolve. No trace will remain on the skin where they were.
The condition of the skin and the presence of certain symptoms in the patient helps to calculate the belonging of psoriasis to one of the stages.
How to treat psoriasis on the hands
Psoriasis on the hands needs complex therapy. Most important is medication and topical treatment of the plaque. Additionally, doctors recommend undergoing a course of physiotherapeutic procedures that have a positive effect on the condition of the skin.
Glucocorticosteroids
At the initial stage of psoriatic disease, which leads to the formation of plaques on the hands, the use of such funds is required:
- Salicylic ointment;
- Glucocorticosteroids with local action;
- Fluorinated glucocorticosteroids;
With drugs that belong to this group, you need to handle very carefully. They are quite dangerous to health, as they can cause serious complications and side effects. Sometimes, after the drug is discontinued, the disease worsens even more.
As a result of prolonged treatment with these agents, signs of malaise may occur, which are expressed in the form of excessive hair growth and atrophy. Therefore, their use is allowed only after a doctor's prescription.
Calcipotriol
Psoriasis on the hands can be treated with drugs that contain calcipotriol. The initial stage of the disease lends itself much better to such therapy. Although it is better to apply it at the last stages of development. Unlike previous medications, products with calcipotriol do not lead to skin atrophy. They also do not have a cancellation effect.
Calcipotriol preparations should be used once a day. The daily norm of the substance should not exceed 15 g. The first results of treatment according to this scheme become noticeable for about 2 weeks. A medication course using these funds should not last more than 2 months.
Preparations based on tar and naftalan
Psoriasis, which has affected the area of the hands, fingers and palms, responds well to drugs containing tar and naphthalan. They are relatively safe for health and have a relatively low cost. Therefore, such treatment will be affordable for many patients.
During treatment with tar and naphthalan means, it is necessary to adhere to a number of rules. Doctors do not recommend using them in the fight against a disease that has spread to large areas of the skin. If you neglect this advice, you can enhance the development of the pathological process. In addition, tar medications can lead to complications of chronic diseases.
Hand psoriasis can be treated with injections with antihistamines. Also, the introduction of sodium thiosulfate in an amount of up to 10 ml per day will not hurt. In such a volume, a 10% solution of calcium chloride is often prescribed. In addition, your doctor may prescribe sedative medications.
In the treatment of psoriatic eruptions on the hands, it is customary to use gels. A positive result is achieved after applying the creams. Ointment therapy is no less effective. All of these drugs can contain hormones or consist of natural ingredients. Hormonal ointment for psoriasis on the hands is more often used for advanced disease. In the initial stages, you can get by with safer topical medicines.
If necessary, doctors recommend that patients resort to more aggressive means that do not give the disease a single chance. These are aromatic retinoids. One of the best among them is an aqueous gel at a concentration of 0. 05% or 0. 1%.
As ancillary drugs, the following are prescribed:
- TNF inhibitors;
- Keratolytic agents;
- Immunomodulators.
If the treatment works, then the disease goes into remission. The patient ceases to be bothered by her symptoms until the next exacerbation. Preventive agents that maintain health in a normal state help to avoid new outbreaks of the pathological process.
Traditional treatment
In order to treat or prevent psoriasis on the hands, you can use products prepared according to recipes of traditional medicine. With their help, it is impossible to cope with the disease. But they significantly enhance the effect of medications and physiotherapy procedures, which is also an important advantage.
It is worth trying to overcome psoriatic ailment with the help of the following folk remedies:
- Homemade ointment. It is prepared from celandine powder (1/2 tsp), baby cream (5 g) and chicken egg white. The resulting mixture must be applied to the skin of the hands about 3 times a day until the painful rashes disappear;
- Baths with sea salt. This remedy is recommended for patients who develop psoriasis at the last stage;
- Natural oils. To moisturize dry skin, you must use this particular product. Flaxseed, apricot, olive and sea buckthorn oils are perfect;
- Solid oil. This substance in its pure form must be applied to the affected areas of the hands every night before going to bed.
It is best to combine several home remedies with each other to speed up your recovery.
Herbal treatment
On the positive side, phytotherapy manifests itself. In psoriasis, it is irreplaceable. In order for herbs to help get rid of psoriatic plaques on the hands, you need to know exactly in what form and quantity to apply them.
To eliminate the signs of psoriasis on the hands, you can use the following medicinal plants:
- Celandine. To treat painful rashes, you will need its juice. They should smear the plaque liberally, while being careful not to get on healthy skin so as not to cause a burn. The duration of such treatment should not exceed 3 months;
- Sunflower. With its help, medical compresses are made. You will need young baskets of the plant, which should be grinded. After that, water is added to the resulting mass. The finished compress is applied to the entire affected area. Sunflower will prevent disease from spreading and relieve inflammation;
- A mixture of chamomile, celandine, mint, lavender and linden. A medicinal broth is prepared from them, which is then added to the hand bath.
It is worth trying to prepare various decoctions and infusions from those plants that can contribute to the elimination of painful symptoms. The most important thing is that the person is not allergic to the herbs that he uses.
Homeopathy and psoriasis
Many patients practice treating psoriasis that has spread to the hands with homeopathic remedies. They are selected depending on the constitutional structure of a person. This therapy helps to reconfigure the body and restore the disturbed balance in it.
It is customary to combine homeopathic medicines with medicines that are of the organotropic type. They are reflected in a special way on the activity of internal organs and systems.
With questions about choosing the right remedy, you should contact an experienced homeopath.
Prophylaxis
Hand psoriasis can periodically subside and worsen. It is in the patient's best interest to keep the disease in remission for a longer period of time in order to avoid the next appearance of plaques on different parts of the body. Preventive measures help to cope with this task:
- It is necessary to take care of the cleanliness of the skin of the hands;
- You should adhere to proper nutrition and give up bad habits;
- It is required to periodically take vitamin complexes to strengthen the immune system;
- Do not expose your hands to chemicals.
If a person does not violate these rules, then psoriasis will not bother him for a long time.