Psoriasis awareness is increasing in the recent years. This is more so when some celebrities had already confirmed that they experience or are currently experiencing the condition. If you are wondering whether you will acquire the condition or not, it would help to know the causes of psoriasis.
Psoriasis is usually characterized by thick, reddish and raised lesions that are often covered by scales that are silvery white in color. Psoriasis usually appears on elbows, knees, scalp and the lower back.
Psoriasis is not age-specific wherein anyone can acquire it regardless how young or old the person is. Nevertheless, prevalence of psoriasis is evident on both men and women whose age us between 15 and 35 years old. Evidently, this is also not gender-specific. Finally, it is not race-specific because anyone can have it despite his or her racial background though it occurs less among Native Americans, West Africans, Japanese and African American. This could mean that there are many environmental factors leading to the development of this skin condition.
There are no known cures and there are also no known causes of psoriasis. There are factors associated to the development of the skin condition. Psoriasis is not contagious although the medical community asserts that it is hereditary. For instance, if one of your parents has the disease, you are more likely to have it. On the other, this is not always true because there are psoriasis sufferers who have no history of psoriasis whatsoever. With this, the medical community cannot clearly determine if psoriasis is really cause by genes.
Apart, disruptive signals in the immune system also lead to the development of psoriasis. When mediators send wrong signals, this can lead to extremely fast regeneration of the skin. The normal skin regeneration cycle is 28 days but when you have psoriasis, this is shortened to 2 to 6 days. The process is responsible for the buildup of plaques or patches on the skin surface. The fast pace of regeneration is considered a result of the disruptive signals within the entire immune system, causing abnormal skin reactions.
Further, there are many triggers to the incidence of psoriasis. Some of the known triggers are allergic reactions, infections, climate and injury. Stress can also trigger the condition into flaring-up. In controlling flare-ups, it would be very important to determine the trigger and control the trigger as well. A psoriasis sufferer may better manage the condition if they would know the trigger. Once you have learned the triggers of your psoriasis, it would be easier for you to avoid them.
You may also notice that you become vulnerable to other triggers. This is inevitable for people with psoriasis. It would be best to learn about the other triggers so you may also know how to avoid them. You should protect yourself for always since your skin would be so vulnerable by now. You should consider the simple precautionary measures like wearing protective clothing, using sunscreen when going out and applying moisturizers whenever necessary.
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