Statistical data indicate a colossal percentage of patients with psoriasis throughout the world - within 3-5%. Mostly the disease affects the skin, which manifests itself as a red rash, with a characteristic inflammatory reaction. In this case, the plaque is covered with a silvery scale on top. The main difficulty in treating the disease is the lack of drugs for a complete cure. It is assumed that the main factors affecting the spread of psoriasis are: metabolic deviations, external factors, stress, as well as heredity.
Most scientists agree that heredity plays one of the most important roles. In the presence of genetic abnormalities, any external stimulation can trigger the manifestation of psoriasis. These can be nervous, depressive, psycho-emotional abnormalities, poor-quality clothing material, mechanical damage to the skin, poisoning with chemical compounds, infectious diseases, etc. Methods for treating psoriasis are reduced to the transition of the disease from acute symptoms to asymptomatic manifestations. Of greatest importance is not only the behavior of a person during the period of relapse, but also the prevention of psoriasis, for which prevention is responsible.
The main methods of preventing psoriasis
Prevention of psoriasis consists in maintaining a healthy lifestyle and eliminating negative factors. At the same time, prevention has a fairly general form, that is, it allows you to prevent the development of other diseases, since immunity is enhanced, and the body functions in a regular mode, the likelihood of qualitatively resisting environmental stimuli increases.
Prevention is a set of measures aimed at maintaining health in the body. There are several areas of influence that can help prevent relapse:
- High-quality skin care;
- Stick to a diet;
- Relaxing massage is recommended;
- Rejection of bad habits;
- Avoid stress and depression;
- Prevent corrosive chemicals from entering the skin and respiratory tract;
- Maintain the proper level of trace elements and vitamins in the body.
Skin care
High-quality and thorough skin care is required:
- Periodically carry out water procedures, even in the cold season. For a hot season, you can use a cool shower, pouring, and in a cold period, use warm baths with the addition of soda, salt, herbs, etc. ;
- It is important to take good care of your skin so as not to provoke irritation and cuts on it. Use soft sponges, and it is better to refuse hard sponges altogether, otherwise a relapse is possible;
- Eliminate solid soaps from use. Also prevent the ingress of solvents such as gasoline, kerosene; It is better to wash the hair on the head with special shampoos, which contain the spread of the disease and can act as a treatment for psoriasis. These include shampoos, balms, and lotions;
- Prevent cracking of the skin to rule out the likelihood of symptoms. After taking a bath or shower, it is important to moisturize the skin, for this use masks, creams, ointments, etc. This accelerates the restoration of the hydrolipid membrane and prevents increased water loss. It is necessary to use such means once a day;
- Indoor moisture should be at an optimal level (50-55%). If the air is too dry, the skin begins to dry out, and then crack. Humidifiers can be used;
- Increased air circulation increases skin dryness in air conditioners and drafts. It is necessary to limit the time spent in such premises;
- Mechanical damage should be excluded. Cuts, bruises, abrasions, skin tears often provoke a relapse;
- Chemicals, such as bathroom care, should be used minimally and only with personal protective equipment, although even prolonged exposure to the respiratory tract is harmful;
- Cut nails short to prevent accidental injury to the skin;
- Some types of cosmetics contain aggressive substances in their composition, which negatively affects the skin. You may have to switch to medical cosmetics.
Application of wellness massage
Prevention of psoriasis becomes even more effective if massage is applied. Massage techniques that stimulate blood circulation are considered particularly beneficial. Thanks to active blood circulation, the removal of metabolites, toxins is accelerated, and the process of skin regeneration is accelerated, which prevents the exacerbation of the disease. The massage involves using the fingers to gradually stretch the skin around the plaque. It is necessary to capture an area of 2-4 cm around the affected area. The plaques themselves should not be touched, it is fraught with aggravation of the disease. A full body massage can be performed to prevent new plaque formation. Mostly you need to process the back, then move on to massaging the limbs and at the end of the abdomen. The ribcage responds well to squeezing and rubbing. The duration of the procedure is 10-15 minutes.
Proper nutrition and diet
Nutrition plays a critical role in preventing the development of almost all chronic diseases, and psoriasis and its prevention are no exception. There are some diet plans that can produce positive results, such as the Pegano diet, but the essence is the same and is to eliminate harmful substances. It is because of the negative effects of food that relapses occur. This is justified by the fact that liver damage in psoriasis is a characteristic course of the disease.
- Do not eat fried, spicy, salty and pickled dishes at all. Also exclude canned food, semi-finished products can be consumed in small quantities, but only homemade. Eat perishable food with caution. All this impairs the processing of food in the gastrointestinal tract;
- Do not eat citrus fruits, as they are considered highly allergenic fruits. Also in the composition of citrus there is colchicine, which destroys folic acid, and it, in turn, is one of the important components of skin regeneration;
- It is not recommended to eat corn;
- Relapses are possible due to bananas, mangoes and strawberries;
- It is forbidden to eat sweets, as well as flour products;
- Eating potatoes is acceptable, but should be greatly reduced. This is due to the high potassium content. By reacting with sodium, they antagonize calcium. Calcium is important in reducing the inflammatory response;
- Fatty meats should be minimized, primarily pork and lamb. Replace with more dietary meats;
- Highly allergenic foods are: eggs, tomatoes, coffee, chocolate, honey, and mushrooms;
- Dairy products are healthy because they contain a lot of protein and fat. It is recommended to introduce cottage cheese, milk, fermented baked milk and cheese into the diet. Thanks to the most important amino acids, the course of biochemical reactions throughout the body is normalized. At the same time, a high calcium content helps to eliminate inflammation, as well as allergic manifestations;
- Treating and preventing psoriasis works well with plant-based foods such as vegetables, fruits, and herbs. However, they should be eaten raw. Carrots have beneficial properties, thanks to vitamin A. This component leads to the normalization of metabolism in the skin and helps to perform faster regeneration;
- Porridge should be present in the diet every day. The most useful cereals are: wheat, oat and buckwheat;
- For the fastest treatment of psoriasis, you need to drink plenty of fluids, this includes juices, water, including mineral water, teas, etc. ;
- If you have an intolerance, prevent the use of allergens. This nuance is determined with the help of the attending physician.
Quitting alcohol and smoking
There is no reliable data on whether alcohol can provoke the disease, but it is known that in patients with already developed psoriasis, the course of the disease is greatly aggravated by drinking. It is also possible to generalize the usual, vulgar form of the disease into a more severe form, for example, psoriatic erythroderma.
With regard to smoking, everything is somewhat simpler. It is noticed that it can provoke both the disease itself and aggravate the current form of the disease. People who consume 20 or more cigarettes per day are especially at risk. The main problem is a decrease in the activity of the immune system due to a lack of oxygen and a weakening of muscle tone and vascular walls. It is also important that smoking aggravates blood circulation through the capillaries, as well as suppression of antioxidant protection.
Healthy lifestyle
A healthy lifestyle is one of the fundamental factors that affect the well-being of the skin. It's important to have a good daily routine, including getting enough sleep. Doctors advise more often to get out into nature, fresh air, go to the sea, resorts, sanatoriums.
Physical activity helps to restore a healthy state of the body, which is the main factor in preventing disease. Sports activities are great, especially fitness and swimming. Such a set of measures allows you to strengthen the immune system, as well as eliminate nervous tension.
Antistress
Psychoemotional disorders and tension negatively affect the course of the disease and very often provoke its occurrence. Of paramount importance in prevention is the normalization and stability of the emotional state and the nervous system. You should try to exclude external stimuli as much as possible. Ancient practices like yoga and meditation, as well as extra sleep, can help with this. In more severe situations, they use sedatives or get along with herbal teas.
If psoriasis involves disorders of the nervous system - headaches, sleep disturbances, nervousness, then medication may be used. Effective - motherwort, valerian, Nervo-Vit. They allow you to normalize sleep patterns, increase the ability of the immune system, and improve resistance to stress.
It is difficult to achieve a result without making your own efforts, you need to take everything more calmly.
Work
Some professions are categorically unsuitable for a psoriasis patient. Adverse factors include: high temperature, too much dryness or humidity in the room, the use of chemicals. Also, the choice of profession should not fall on specialties with a high level of nervous stress, as well as the risk of mechanical damage. It is best to stay away from highly allergenic environments.
The use of vitamin complexes
Vitamins have an extremely beneficial effect not only on the course of the disease, but also on its prevention. Thanks to strong immunity, it is possible to prevent relapse, along with this, the metabolism improves, which has a beneficial effect on the condition of the skin. Important vitamins are:
- A - he is responsible for keratinization, which significantly accelerates skin regeneration;
- E - Primarily prized for its antioxidant effects. It also prevents abnormalities in metabolism and acts as an integral part of DNA synthesis;
- D - is a regulating substance for the exchange of phosphorus and calcium. At the same time, it stimulates regeneration in the epidermis and normalizes the membrane, cellular structure;
- Group B - are actively involved in the metabolism of the skin, improve the absorption of oxygen. Skin elements respond favorably to the presence of B vitamins, which is shown by the normalization of the nervous system.
Most often, products with a high content of vitamins or preparations are used. Recommended - Undevit, Geksavit, and Dekamevit, but they need to be used based on the recommendations of the doctor.
Medications
Consultation with a doctor before taking medications is required. In some cases, the agents, on the contrary, cause an aggravation of the disease, which is manifested by an increase in symptoms. The use of lithium preparations, as well as those containing gold and beta-blockers, should be avoided.
Any, even the most harmless, at first glance, diseases can provoke psoriasis. It is necessary to deal with the timely treatment of all ailments. Upper respiratory tract disease often aggravates psoriasis.
Climatotherapy, ultraviolet rays
Ultraviolet radiation has a beneficial effect on the course of psoriasis and its prevention. Patients are prescribed sunbathing for 5-10 minutes, combustion is unacceptable. Also, sea water has a positive effect, especially from the Dead Sea, although this indicator is individual, on the contrary, it harms some. Skin wounds are a contraindication to swimming in seawater. During an exacerbation, you should not swim. The time for carrying out climatotherapy should be adjusted individually.
When sunbathing, you need to use protective creams. The attending physician will be able to tell whether sunbathing will have a beneficial effect, otherwise there is a high risk of exacerbation of the disease.
Trauma
Injuries are very dangerous manifestations that can cause psoriasis, as well as aggravate it. This increases the risk of secondary infection due to cuts and abrasions. Plaques often appear around the lesions. Prevent the formation of injuries as much as possible.
clothing
Such a factor as high-quality and suitable clothing is one of the principles of preventing psoriasis or its recurrence. It is recommended to use clothes made of soft fabrics made from natural materials, it is better that they have a light color. This will help avoid injury to the plaque and reduce soreness on the skin. The lighter color will help make the silvery scales less visible. Linen, cotton and other soft fabrics are ideal for bedding. Avoid wearing woolen sweaters and similar irritating materials.