Eyebrow Psoriasis? Auspitz Sign?

[Lee140]

I was wondering if anyone else has had a similar experience to me. I've noticed that I have quite a bit of what looks like dandruff in both eyebrows. My rheumatologist thinks I have PA, and I have an appm't with a Derm this month to confirm what she thinks is mild scalp and nail psoriasis.

In addition to the dandruff, when I pluck my eyebrows I get little pin pricks of blood and the whole area appears irritated. I've never had any trouble in the past with plucking my eyebrows. It's also more painful, when it's never bothered me a bit before. I don't have any plaque or redness, just what looks like big dandruff. If I rub my eyebrows I get a shower of the stuff.

So, weird questions, but does anyone else have this?

Thanks!
Lee

[MikeK]

Hi Lee,

I don't think that we've met, so let me take this opportunity to welcome you to the board. Nice to meet you.

Yep! I sometimes get what looks like dandruff in my eyebrows too. (I've also experienced what looks like a snowstorm if I rub my eyebrows.) I've never treated it. Like you, there's no apparent plaques or redness. Just the dandruff.

I don't pluck my eyebrows, but you may be experiencing something called the Koebner effect. The Koebner effect was named after the doctor who first described phenomena. The Koebner effect basically means that any injury (and plucking your eyebrows is basically a form of injury) to a previously healthy patch of skin can result in a new patch of psoriasis. The Koebner effect also means that an injury to an existing patch of psoriasis can cause that existing patch of psoriasis to get worse. Not all psoriasis patients experience the Koebner effect. (I don't -- knock on wood.) And, not every injury results in the Koebner effect. Here's a link to a previous discussion about the Koebner effect: http://www.psoriasis.org/forum/showthread.php?t=10988. (Note: I just discovered that the second link in my response to the thread that I just gave you the link to no longer works.)

I hope this helps.

Mike

[sergecosta]

Hi Lee!

I have the same thing. Mike's description of his experience is precisely how I would describe it as well.

I find it tends to resolve if you don't scratch it and mess with it. SCratching it with my nail definitely worsens it for days.

Protopic works very well for me in that area.

Serge

[Paco386]

I have had P on my eyebrows for a while and it is definitely annoying - in the morning it's a smooth red patch and later in the day you look and there's a big old flake ready to peel off but is anchored in place by the hair strands. I use one of those little moustache combs to surface out the flakes instead of digging in with my finger (which I have found brutally plucks out some strands in the process and causes an Auspitz sign so it makes it look worse ). Fortunately, I believe natural sunlight and some diligent Listerine applications have reduced my problem area there by 90%. What small spots remain I touch up with liquid makeup and a Q-Tip and no one knows the difference!

[Lee140]

This is all great information! Thank you! The Koebner thing after plucking makes a lot of sense too. I tend to get it on any little injury on my hands and knees, but it doesn't spread, it just "fills" the scar with scale for months.

One more question, do you find that you have unusually dry skin everywhere, not just where the P is? I use Eucerin every day, but still have terribly dry skin even where I don't have any P. The weather where I live is very cold this week and my arthritis is giving me a fit. I can barely keep up with rubbing on lotion as it hurts my hands and wrists so much!!

Thank you!!
Lee

[sergecosta]

Hi Lee!

I too noticed that I had dry skin everywhere - in particular my lower legs and arms. What did I do to resolve it? Two things: drink more water (definitely helps though it takes time) and reduce or seriously cut back on the amount of soap used. Since I have stopped using soap on my arms and legs, my problem is gone! I don't use soap every day; there really is no reason to. Use lots of lukewarm water to wash your face and skin (hot water will dry your skin). For sensitive body parts and for places that do need cleaning, like underarms and genitals, dilute, dilute, dilute. Don't use washcloths. And pat your skin dry after a shower or bath. If you do the latter, remember that baths can immensely de-hydrate your skin.

I used to use moisturizers like many people with psoriasis do. I stopped using it altogether (I had a dermatologist who was strongly anti-moisturizer, principally because he too suffered from a skin condition, eczema). There are components in moisturizers, like gycerin and its variants, that actually "rob" water from just under the skin to bring to the top part of your skin. It is hydrophilic. When the moisturizer is fully absorbed, the skin is dry---thereby getting the user into a vicious cycle. For many psoriatics, a moisturizer is absolutely necessary; their skin's integrity is fully compromised. So it depends on the person and the benefits as opposed to costs for each individual.

[forestal]

Hi Lee,

welcome, i have scalp/eyebrow "dandruff" for years until PA flared,and then elsewhere, so i think pretty common

[Glennmaroney]

I also have the Brow Fluf although I ave never plucked them. Seems to be mostly towards the center of the brows. I keep it under control during flares by shampooing them with Denorex with 2.5% coal tar solution. Works well for me but I can't leave it on my brows but a minute or two before it starts burning.

[Lee140]

Thanks, all! I've been using Dove for Senstive Skin, but will start to limit it to the really necessary areas. I'm also going to make a better effort to drink more water!! I do drink some, but it's vastly outweighed by the coffee I drink which is a diuretic! I'm hoping that when I see the Derm on the 17th, that since I have such a mild case of P that he will be able to give me something to clear it up. Especially the itchy scalp!!! Thanks for your help!
Lee

[jlcg91375]

Wow. Is this what has been happening to me? My dermatologist thought it was seborrhea in my eyebrows. I have guttate psoriasis and have been in remission since April or so. I had it all over, and in my hairline and apparently my eyebrows too. I also had inverse (very painful). Nice to know what was really going on.

[Lee140]

Interesting about Seborrehea (sp?). My five year old and seven year old both had bad "cradle cap" which their doctor said is a type of Seb. They are supposed to "outgrow" in by the time they're a year old. Both of them still have it. Their doctor said not to worry about it, but now with my developing P I wonder if this is a warning sign for them in the future. I've read that there's a link between Seb Derm and people developing P. What they have now is definitely not P, as it is the classic "yellow, greasy scale" of Seb D. I do worry though that one or both of them will develop it when they're older. Thankfully, my 3 year old never had cradle cap, and has a beautiful little scalp!
Lee

[sergecosta]

Hi Lee!

I had very bad cradle cap when I was a baby. In particular, the first few months, as I am told. However, even though my scalp was bad when I left high school to go onto college, my scalp psoriasis since then (1992) has been relatively mild. Not the red patches, but pinkish and more of a dry scalp problem.

[Beegs]

Hi Lee,

I've only had bad psoriasis for 2 months, and I did get it pretty badly on my eyebrows and forehead. I was going NUTS until I figured out that I could put a gooey 2% coal tar ointment on those areas and the P would more or less go away. It comes back if I don't use it every day, but man! What a difference. For awhile my eyebrows were just crusty and flaky and I could do nothing to keep them clear. I use MG217, OTC... it is greasy and smelly, but I LOVE it and use it every night like a beauty cream. The ancient Egyptians were the ones who invented bathing in tar for beautiful skin! LMAO!

I am using it for guttate p on my abdomen too, but that area is more stubborn and I'm going for a more extensive treatment soon.

[Egg]

I have a nasty patch that forms on my left eyebrow. Aside from my hands, feet, arms, and legs, and ears, this is the most annoying place I have psoriasis! I've been using Elidel, and this seems to make it disappear for a few days.

[Lee140]

Thanks all! I see the Derm next week and will keep my mitts off my brows until then. May have the Cro-Magna thing going on, but that's better than letting it get going full force!
Lee