Psoriasis flare up, any tips?

[fatedtopretend]

I'm very stressed at the moment and am starting having a flare up, does anyone have any advice on pain relief at all, it is getting me down this time.

Shameless self bump, in so much pain!

What sort of psoriasis do you have? and where is it painful?

Sorry, can't give much advice, but I have psoriasis too. What sort do you have? Do you use steroid creams or do you take oral medication?

Mine is mainly on my scalp at the moment. When it's very tight and painful I use coconut oil, it moisturises and soothes. I also make sure I include lots of olive oil and butter in my diet and that I drink lots of water. If you can get some steroid cream from your gp, that should help.

HTH

I have guttate psoriasis but after an awful flare up a year ago it never fully went and is flaring up on top of the old patches now.

I'm at doctors on Monday about it and have been using coconut oil, epaderm, diprobase and aloe Vera to try calm it down. It is so, so sore, I feel like a snake every time I move.

I haven't had a sore throat at all, just stressed beyond belief.

So sorry to hear you've had a flare up, I did just before Christmas and it really hurt.

Keep putting on as much diprobase etc as you can until you see the dr on mon. Sounds like you need steroid cream to calm it down.

Have you tried coal tar baths? You might find that soothing. You are using a bit of a concoction though and I wonder if one of them is making it more inflammed. You do need some proper treatment though, what do you normally use to treat it other than emollients?

Sympathies.

I've had guttate since being about 13. My dd developed it at just 6. She was 90% covered. She was offered uv light treatment at the hospital. It worked wonders for her. We still have to moisturise religiously and she still has it in her scalp. We keep it in check with the odd tiny dab of dovobet gel. She's now 9.

I really do understand the pain. I get flare ups about 2 months after a stressful time. I've always fallen back on dithrocream which was prescribed to me by a knowledgable Gp with an interest in skin. (I've been bad and kept the old creams that still work).

Other than that - paracetamol, heavy duty emollient cream heaped on several times a day if you can manage. Taking fish oils helps me a bit long term.

Have you tried taking vit D at all? I know mine always gets better with sunlight, so I try to wear thinner tops where possible and (touch wood) haven't had a flare up yet as the weather has been so mild and I haven't been layering up as much!

If you can afford a sunny holiday do that, otherwise Vit D supplements or a light box might help. I've not used a light box so can't really advise on that.

I keep my emollient by the loo so that as soon as my jeans are pulled down I can slather it on me. That way I dont forget!

Good old fashioned dithranol Have to be careful in applying that else it can go a bit wrong!! I find dovabet is pretty good sometimes (dovonex and a steroid). Dovonex by itself makes my skin sore. Unfortunatly Dovobet is on a Manufacturer Cant supply so I had to hunt for a pharmacist with stock in recently.

Light boxes don't stimulated Vit D in people (but they are good for SAD)

I take vit d already and go on the sunbed twice a week (my gp advised me it is exactly the same as you get from them but without the wait).

Just hoping to get something to help the pain in the morning!

Thank you for all the messages

Hi op, so sorry you're having a bad flare up. I know how bad it can get and thankfully for me I'm actually pretty much cleared up but a year ago I was about 75% covered!
I went through light therapy which has helped loads. However, I was diagnosed with psoriatic arthritis this year too and am now currently on methotrexate which I hate but my skins fine so it is helping that.
I use double base moisturiser at least twice a day now but when mine was at its worst this helped to keep my skin moist cos it was when it was drying out it was so painful.
Are you due to see your dermatologist soon?

DH is using Dovobet lotion and a Coal Tar lotion at the moment - he is having a bad flare of psoriasis at the moment too.

His Psoriatic Arthritis is also flaring, but that's a whole different post!

I think it's a combination of stress and also lack of sunshine that has made his worse - along with a rubbish diet over Christmas.

I had guttate psoriasis flare uo once. Also had the patchy kind on my foot, nail pitting and i think some on my scalp. Tried lots of creams, steroids etc. nothing worked. i tried acupuncture , had three sessions and it went away never to return

I (shamefully) haven't had a dermatologist for about 3 years as until last year I hadn't had a flare up for years. I self treat as was working ft with a 2 y/o and didn't have time to go get re-referred.

I am about 60% covered at the moment-up about 20% from 3 days ago and it is just horrible-sorry for feeling so sorry for myself! I have put on weight recently following injury/Christmas/stress and so self esteem was already down. This mixed with the pain is making me depressed (I do struggle with depression anyway).

I am at the point of doing anything to help! I've read about people going gluten free but not sure if this would work with guttate?

Can I add an injection of caution to the sunbed advice. I've recently been diagnosed with non-melanoma skin cancer (type will be known when they remove it and biopsy it in a few weeks)

My current dermatologist feels that it is linked to uv exposure during psoriasis treatment. I've had hospital treatments, a home uv lamp and I also used to self treat on uv beds. I have a lot of skin damage and it is quite likely I will get more cancers.

Please get up to date advice from your own dermatologists about the risks and what to look for.

Fated my psoriasis derm told me to always have antibiotics if I get a sudden flare of guttate.

Thanks for the advice, I will bring it up at my appointment tomorrow?.

I really hope your results come back as well as they can

Thank you.

That is a good idea. I have really mixed feelings. I absolutely needed the UV treatment, it was the best option possible at the time and even with that and extensive topical treatments it was severe for a long time on a few occasions. Sometimes you have to accept that there is a risk to medical treatment and doctors have to weigh the risk/benefit up.

I got creams etc and a referral for puva from the docs bit am feeling worse and worse, it's like I have the flu-does anyone else get like this?

But, not bit, sorry, beyond tired at the moment!

Hi op, glad you got a referral for puva. That should help a lot. You could actually just be run down or coming down with something, that could be flaring your psoriasis up too.
Hope the creams help in the meantime.

Fated i really feel for you, it sounds like you are really suffering - nasty flare.

I feel flu like when my psoriatic arthritis flares. Are you going to be seeing a dermatologist? Could your gp give you a rough idea for the waiting list? It sounds like you need to be seen urgently.

The GP said the waiting list wasn't too long as there is a good psoriasis team here, hopefully within 4 weeks

Good :)

In the mean time you need to rest as much as possible (even if it means you need to be signed off). I've read that you should eat a little more protein during a psoriasis flare but I don't know if that is based on fact. Keep well hydrated. If you keep feeling fluey or if that feeling gets worse then go back to your gp pronto.