DH has psoriasis, the poor guy is in abject misery, MN must have a miracle cure up its sleeve, mustn't it?

[AitchTwoOh]

god, the poor, poor guy... it's all over his face and causing him great pain. any tips?

This isn't necessarily medically proven but some people with psoriasis swear by switching from cows milk to goats milk. It doesn't seem
To be just not having cows milk but actually choosing the goats milk.
I tried it and it's not a miracle cure but my psoriasis doesn't seem to get quite so bad as if it's taken the edge off it.

The reality is psoriasis is something that comes and goes so that could be the cause of these reported improvements from people but if you want a non medical suggestion it's a low risk one.

I know medically people get treated with sun beds and mine us far better in summer but that's something youd want to discuss with your doctor as obviously the risks of sunbeds have to be weighed against benefits.

Hope this helps

My eldest brother has suffered with this chronically for years.

Bathing in sea salt and getting out in the sun seem to be the two best things for him - combined with weak tea or nettle tea and coaltar soap.

Don't know a lot about psoriasis but at work have come across higher than average allergic reactions to dermol, could explain worsening symptoms

Having read some of the comments my dh had cracks on the end of his fingers massively sore and always been told it's eczema aggravated by environmental stuff. Would be interested to know what his appt yields.

I don't know about facial psoriasis. Mines on my elbows and iccsusionally my knee which are very common places. Try the goats milk if he doesn't mind it - not bad in tea but can't get my head around it on cereal - tastes too goaty!!!!!

very interesting about dermol. so is that an aqueous cream?

Just wanted to add in that smoking is known to exacerbate psoriasis too.

There are lots of types or dermol, but it has chlorhexidine in it, which can be a sensitiser.

Dermol is a brand of emollient. Dermol 500 is a soap substitute but there are others for in the bath etc too.

Aqueous cream is a bit like E45.

They are both available on prescription.

he's just read the thread, says thanks very much to all of you. it's so weird, it seems just to have come out of nowhere and i would like it to just Go Away, but having access to the MN collective scabby skin wisdom at least gives us a bit of a start. thanks.

If he's got cracks on the ends of his fingers, it might be worth applying moisturiser under occlusion (i.e. under some sort of cover, e.g. surgical gloves, cling film) overnight. Does he have any emollient that he's found suits him? (sounds like the dermol maybe doesn't, and if so it wouldn't be a good idea to use it under occlusion). Some info here

sun beds prior to holiday might provide some temporary relief

sorry aitch - didn't mean to be mysterious! back of hands would be pretty uncommon with psoriasis. No idea about ends of fingers - unless it is an extension of nail psoriasis? (i get that on the ends of my toes!) palms could be a tricky one - palmoplantar.

Please don't encourage him to use a sunbed. I know it can help some people but if his main areas of suffering are areas that are usually exposed to the sun, them I'm not sure it would help - could make it a lot worse.

Phone the consultant's secretary - explain that you are going on holiday soon. It is getting rapidly worse, you are worried that the sun might make even worse and you don't think he can tolerate sun creams. Plead for a cancellation appt.

I don't think what my DH has is psoriasis - more likely contact dermatitis - but he gets the painful deep cracks in his fingertips.

He's been using a dead-sea-salt scrub which sounded totally counter intuitive to me but is actually working very very well - might be another thing for the list. He's got it from Amazon, made by a company called Premier. I tried some on my legs, it is very moisturising.

have phoned the doc this morning for a more urgent referral, she's going to phone back. called the consultant's secretary but she said that this is the only way of speeding things up because technically he isn't their patient yet.

I had the UVB light treatment at hospital.. That cleared it up completely.
I now use Dovobet for the occasional patches that appear on my arms, which usually clears up after a day or two.

My psoriasis also cleared for years after I had been pregnant (obviously impossible for your DH!)

Shop bought stuff I use, Plamers Cocoa Butter, or Re-Gen Oil.

Is he stressed about anything at all? Psoriasis can be triggered by stress.

Friend's son had great success with Chinese herbs. Smelled and tasted disgusting but effective.

the thing about chinese herbs though, fwiu, is that they are using mahoosively powerful natural steroids and can induce kidney failure... i used chinese herbs for another thing and absolutely cacked myself when i found this out.

re stress... who isn't stressed these days?

I've had psoriasis for years, quite badly at times. It sounds like your dh needs to see a consultant dermatologist asap.

In the past I've had UVB therapy which cleared it but it always comes back again in time. I wouldn't recommend using sunbeds independently, they emit UVA and in any case there is a risk re skin cancer so it has to be carefully dosed etc.

At the moment I used Curatoderm lotion on my face and its quite good. One of the few places I've never had it are my hands but there is also a Curatoderm ointment which your dh could use on his hands at night (with cotton gloves on top to stop it going everywhere). If your dh speaks to his gp they might give him a prescription to try some even before he sees the dermatologist.

I use Dovobet on my body and Dovonex on my scalp.

I've had no success with chinese medicine or any of the over the counter products that other people have recommended over the years. Personally, I wouldn't waste any more money on herbal products that well meaning people suggest I try.

Hope your dh has success with treatment.

Hi I have severe psoriasis and have had since I was 11. I would second seeing a dermatolgist. They will have more treatment options available including UV light treatment and if necessary some heavy duty meds which can be fantastic in severe cases.

I am just starting an newish drug classed as biologics and the treatment options are much more varied than they were 20 years ago

My DH has quite bad psoriasis - particularly at the moment. Trying to get him to go back to the specialist but being a man, he isn't keen on seeing the doctor.

Anyway, he uses a shampoo called Capasal for his scalp. It is stronger than T-Gel which didn't really do the job for him. It also has coal tar in it but you have to ask for it from the pharmacist. Despite DH's flare up his scalp is pretty clear when in the past, his hairline has been quite badly affected.

I would advise caution with the sunbed. My DH has skin very similar to his father - they both suffer with it although DH's psoriasis is much worse. However, DH's father has just been treated for skin cancer on his face as one of his scaly areas turned malignant. It might just be coincidence but I wouldn't risk it persoanally.

My poor DH also has psoriasitic arthritis too so it is certainly something that needs to be seen by a specialist as it is a complex condition. Hope your DH gets his appointment moved forward, Aitch.

I have just got back from seeing a Consultant Dermatologist this morning . I have had psoarisis for 8 years , and my GP always refused to refer me , saying it was just one of those things . Baically - go away and moisturise !
I saw a locum GP a while ago who referred me immediately .
Consultant this morning was horrified that I hadnt been referred before now , and that i had been useing steroid creams on a daily basis for 8 years (was tols to do this by my GP !!!) Consultant said I have over 60% of my body covered with psoarisis .

Have now been put on a 6 week programme to cut out my steroid cream usage , and then I am having a course of UVB light treatment . (3 sessions per week over 7 weeks)

The Dermatologist said they have an 86% clearance rate with this treatment . And most people will just be able to self treat with their normal creams for any small recurrent patches themselves .

So tell your hubby to get insistant on being seen , it's well worth it !

You can use steroid creams for a week at a time, very sparingly just to help clear it up. DD has perianal psorasis and if it's really bad we will use it for 3-4 days just to get it back in check.

I too suffer from psoriasis although it flares up at random points in my life and not all the time. I can recommend this cream here. It is very soothing. I have not used on my face though I am sure it would be fine (I have used on my boobs during a particularly infuriating flare up!).

topsyturner. Please, if you don't go to an optician regularly make an appt and ask them to check your eye pressure and your lens in each eye. 'Splain to them how long you've been using steroids for. You will probably not have an issue, but its something your optician ought to know about.