Do different types of psoriasis itch? Thoughts on why we get psoriasis?

[Jewel]

Hi guys I have posted a few posts now and WOW the info on this site is awesome it kinda freaks me out that I may have to start taking drastic measures now.

Here's my question
"Does everybody's psoriasis itch"? or only different types?


I have psoriasis on my knee's and elbows (the knees and elbows is the worst because its visable and is quite big) I also have it on my ankles and even a patch on my big toe and now its appearing on the back of my thigh and inside my thigh they are only small pathes. My scalp is quite bad (I do colour my hair though).My scalp does not itch I'm just naughty and pick it cause I hate the lumps of skin.
Here's the thing none of it itches EVER but it does on my bottom when I get hot in bed (sigh) and when I itch I go crazy!!! Is this because the psoriasis on my bottom is a different type to the psoriasis on the rest of me?



Also wanted to know is psoriasis caused from a over active immune system?
If so then all those injections that help with that ,can they make you more sick?
I'm just thinking isn't it kinda good in a sense that we have an over active immune system????????

How come some say its passed on through families? My dad had it but only got it when he was in his forty's I think and my brother has it slightly in his hair and my twin sister has not?
Hope my kids don't get it.I did go to a homeopath and she gave me some stuff for my kids and said this will stop them from getting it...might sound silly but I was gonna try anything to stop this from happening to them!


Thanks again for all the awesome info its not so scary knowing there are so many other in the same boat.Hope

[DanielEW]

Hi guys I have posted a few posts now and WOW the info on this site is awesome it kinda freaks me out that I may have to start taking drastic measures now.

Here's my question
"Does everybody's psoriasis itch"? or only different types?

My plaque doesn't itch very much. I have both plaque and guttate. The guttate itches far more often, with the patch on my ankle the worst. I scratch it in my sleep.

I have psoriasis on my knee's and elbows (the knees and elbows is the worst because its visable and is quite big) I also have it on my ankles and even a patch on my big toe and now its appearing on the back of my thigh and inside my thigh they are only small pathes. My scalp is quite bad (I do colour my hair though).My scalp does not itch I'm just naughty and pick it cause I hate the lumps of skin.
Here's the thing none of it itches EVER but it does on my bottom when I get hot in bed (sigh) and when I itch I go crazy!!! Is this because the psoriasis on my bottom is a different type to the psoriasis on the rest of me?

It's quite possible they're different types. http://www.ehealthmd.com/library/pso...PSO_types.html

Also wanted to know is psoriasis caused from a over active immune system?
If so then all those injections that help with that ,can they make you more sick?
I'm just thinking isn't it kinda good in a sense that we have an over active immune system????????

It's the inflammatory part of our immune system that's overactive in psoriasis. I used to think that it was great that I could heal cuts in like . . . two days. I've discovered the down side of that. Some of the biologics prescribed suppress the immune system, either specifically the skin part or sometimes just in general. You'll have a far greater chance of 'catching something' while taking them.

How come some say its passed on through families? My dad had it but only got it when he was in his forty's I think and my brother has it slightly in his hair and my twin sister has not?
Hope my kids don't get it.I did go to a homeopath and she gave me some stuff for my kids and said this will stop them from getting it...might sound silly but I was gonna try anything to stop this from happening to them!

We have a genetic pre-disposition for psoriasis. It doesn't mean we will get it, just that we stand a greater chance. I believe there is a 35% chance of siblings having Psoriasis. Not sure what the chances are for offspring, but I assume it's much the same. Genetic Roulette.

Thanks again for all the awesome info its not so scary knowing there are so many other in the same boat.Hope

Never hesitate to ask questions, there are so many here that can help, or at least listen. Feel free to vent as well . . . I guarantee everyone will understand.

[DottieD]

At the National Psoriasis Foundation meeting in Orlando last summer, one of the speakers said that people with p have a higher resistance to scarlet fever due to our overactive immune systems. Back in the olden days when scarlet fever caused a lot of deaths in young people, that was a distinct advantage. So people with p were more likely to live long enough to reproduce than the population in general. That would counterbalance the tendency of some of us with p to be less likely to marry and have children.

Also, our modern diet is highly inflammatory, with all the meat and fat we eat. In prehistoric times people ate leaner meat (caught in the wild, not fattened up in feed lots). They also ate more colorful vegetables and didn't fry their foods. We eat french fries and potato chips and hot dogs and fried meats. And we eat more. So maybe people who were susceptible to developing psoriasis never did (or had milder cases) because of the way they ate.

DottieD

[TaraFIU]

Hi Jewel.

I have guttate p and scalp p. Both are very itchy I do not pick or scratch, but it continues to be itchy.

My gp is on my back, chest and stomach. More recently (as a result of a potential enbrel rebound flare) it has spread to my arms and legs as well. My scalp p has also started to migrate south to my face

I also eat a very healty diet. Tons of fruits and veggies. Lots of fish. Some chicken. No red meat. Only whole grains. Limited sweets & fried food (try to stick to only 1 day a week of "cheat" foods).

I have looked into anti-inflamitory diets, but have not tried any. I see that they list the nightshades as inflamitory (tomoatoes, eggplant, potatoes, peppers) and I eat a lot of these. I also eat a lot of eggs (also noted to be probelmatic for p) and drink I alcohol almost daily.

So far, my sibling does not have p (she is 21... that is how old I was when I first developed gp... I always had scalp p). My mom's brother and sister both suffered from p, but have been in remission for some time now. I hope that I will follow in their footsteps and exprience remisision in my 40's and 50's. It is interseting that I have p while my little sis doesn't b/c my sis takes after my mom (the side with p) while I take after my dad (the side with no p). I hope she never gets it My poor sis does battle acne however. Poor thing. I have never had that problem. I have never had oily skin. Quite the contrary. My skin can never get enough moisture. I have to use moisturizers labeld "creme" or "body butter." Any product labeled "lotion" does nothing for me.

As far as why I may have p (besides genetic predisposition), I do seem to have a propensity for developing autoimmune conditions. I have ha****oxicosis (thyroid disease) and I suffered from lyme disease which I beleive developed into chronic lyme as I still suffer some joint pain.

[wildflowerAnn]

Hi Jewel,

I get severe itching with psoriasis. Guess it depends on the person.

My understanding is that we have a genetic predisposition, AND then something triggers it. The triggers are different for many of us. Strep throat infections; stress; allergies, etc.
I didn't get psoriasis until I was 50. I'm glad that I had 50 years without psoriasis.

Welcome to the message board.

[Jewel]

Hi Jewel.

I have guttate p and scalp p. Both are very itchy I do not pick or scratch, but it continues to be itchy.

My gp is on my back, chest and stomach. More recently (as a result of a potential enbrel rebound flare) it has spread to my arms and legs as well. My scalp p has also started to migrate south to my face

I also eat a very healty diet. Tons of fruits and veggies. Lots of fish. Some chicken. No red meat. Only whole grains. Limited sweets & fried food (try to stick to only 1 day a week of "cheat" foods).

I have looked into anti-inflamitory diets, but have not tried any. I see that they list the nightshades as inflamitory (tomoatoes, eggplant, potatoes, peppers) and I eat a lot of these. I also eat a lot of eggs (also noted to be probelmatic for p) and drink I alcohol almost daily.

So far, my sibling does not have p (she is 21... that is how old I was when I first developed gp... I always had scalp p). My mom's brother and sister both suffered from p, but have been in remission for some time now. I hope that I will follow in their footsteps and exprience remisision in my 40's and 50's. It is interseting that I have p while my little sis doesn't b/c my sis takes after my mom (the side with p) while I take after my dad (the side with no p). I hope she never gets it My poor sis does battle acne however. Poor thing. I have never had that problem. I have never had oily skin. Quite the contrary. My skin can never get enough moisture. I have to use moisturizers labeld "creme" or "body butter." Any product labeled "lotion" does nothing for me.

As far as why I may have p (besides genetic predisposition), I do seem to have a propensity for developing autoimmune conditions. I have ha****oxicosis (thyroid disease) and I suffered from lyme disease which I beleive developed into chronic lyme as I still suffer some joint pain.

My dad is also in remission and he is in his fifties.My sis also had bad acne and was on medication for it but I also had bad skin??

Thanks for all the info guys its great I just hope I can get someone form aussie who can recommend someone so I can try some other medication....still not sure what exactly.

[lpagano]

My p is always itchy and when I flare it itches from the inside out, ugh. I have had p since I was 9, it is in my family big time.

[RyanSyp]

For me it depends where on my body the lesion is, and how much of that particular area is covered. For some reason lesions on my legs/scalp itch like hell. Also if a lesion is new it itches MUCH worse than if its been there awhile.

[Islay]

my plaque p would get itchy if the skin was really built up. I also have scalp p and it gets quite itchy - worse if I'm really hot and have been sweating. It I keep it well moisturised with some sorbolene, it isn't near as itchy as when it gets dried out. I also have the triple whammy of guttate p now (after a bacterial infection entered some open skin affected my p behind my ear - but a few weeks before that I did have a very bad sore throat) and when it first flared up it drove me MENTAL it was that itchy and particularly on my back. It isn't so bad now though and only gets itchy if I let it dry out too much, so I make sure that I use a good sorbolene after having a shower. Also try not to have very hot showers as that can make it worse too.

I first got p when I was 13 and it actually coincided with when I started to develop endometriosis, so I always thought it was hormonal but the 'trigger' can be anything - emotional upheaval, illness, physical trauma or just one of those things. In my family, my paternal grandmother has scalp p, my father used to get it only on his elbows, but his has since progressed to pustular p after a severe motor vehicle accident. My sister gets a little bit of scalp p, but my brothers don't get anything at all. I"m hoping that my children don't get it, but my youngest had quite bad infant eczema, so he might get it.

treatments and their side effects will vary. You won't find a dr that will prescribe MTX while you are not finished with having children as it can have some pretty nasty side effects in some people and can cause liver damage (thankfully I don't appear to be one of them at this stage) and it is proven to cause birth defects - even if you are a male it is not recommended that you father children either. So even though I did have MTX first suggested a few years ago, I couldn't take it till now cause I am finished having babies.