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The contents of this website are not intended to be medical advice. Please see your healthcare
professional with any specific questions about your condition and / or treatment.

What is psoriasis?

Psoriasis is more than just a skin condition, and it can affect people physically and psychologically. With the right treatment and advice, many people live well with psoriasis. You can access advice on all aspects of psoriasis care and management by visiting the Psoriasis Association website.

Plaque psoriasis

Plaque psoriasis (also called psoriasis vulgaris), is the most common form affecting about 90% of people with psoriasis. It is characterised by well-defined thick, red, inflamed areas of skin, often covered by silvery scales. The knees, elbows, scalp, and trunk are the most commonly affected skin areas. Plaque psoriasis is very frequently associated with itching and pain, and plaques can crack and bleed.

Psoriasis in flexural areas (which include the back of the knees, inside of the armpits, elbows, behind the ears and the groin) often does not have the typical ‘plaques’ or scaliness seen in other areas and usually appears as very bright red (or dark on darker skin tones) and shiny. It is easy to tell where the psoriasis ends, and normal skin begins. Psoriasis in these areas looks quite different to its typical dry and scaly appearance, so it can often be mistaken for a fungal infection or other skin condition.

What causes psoriasis?

Psoriasis is often spoken about as a condition that runs in families, or that is genetic. However, not all family members develop psoriasis, and just having a gene that is linked to psoriasis does not necessarily mean you will develop the condition.

As well as family links, we are beginning to understand the ways psoriasis is linked with our immune system. Our immune system helps our bodies to heal wounds and fight infections. All parts of the body, including our skin, work together to prevent infections getting worse, or stop diseases starting. These parts can be whole organs, or very small cells which send out chemical messages in the body. Some chemical messengers are responsible for causing inflammation and psoriasis to develop.

When a person has psoriasis, the immune system causes the skin replacement process to speed up taking just a few days to replace skin cells that usually take 21-28 days.

What does this mean for me?

For people with psoriasis, the increase in skin replacement speed results in the accumulation of skin cells that build up to form raised ‘plaques’ on the skin. These plaques can also be flaky, scaly, red on Caucasian skin and darker patches on darker skin tones. The inflammation associated with the immune response can also lead to redness, soreness, burning and itchiness in the skin.

Triggers

For most people, a ‘trigger’ causes the inflammation and psoriasis to develop. These triggers can be difficult to find, and many people never work out what their trigger is.

Everyone with psoriasis is different, and so what affects one person’s psoriasis might not affect another. Not all the triggers will affect every person with psoriasis, but they do include being exposed to stress, poor diet, smoking cigarettes and increased alcohol consumption.

Flares and how to cope with them

Most people with psoriasis experience “cycles” in their symptoms. The condition may cause severe symptoms for a few days or weeks, and then the symptoms may clear up and be almost unnoticeable. Then, in a few weeks or if made worse by a common psoriasis trigger, the condition may flare up again.

What does that mean for me?

Psoriasis flares are unpredictable, and it can feel as if they appear at the worst possible times. This can be upsetting and frustrating. Many people find the unpredictable nature of psoriasis one of its most troubling features.