How to treat scalp psoriasis?

It’s a frustrating illness, especially on the psychological and ethical level. At one end we get an understanding that it looks horrible and is disgusting for the people around while on the other side – a mixture of feelings of compassion and repulsion (even though they know that it’s not contagious). One thing is for sure – psoriasis makes it difficult for the victim as well as for the people around.

There’s no way to get rid of it completely – psoriatic state is for a lifetime. Though, there are ways of fighting the symptoms, and they’re quite effective. The cause of this illness lies deep in the immune system and genes, though scientists are still in the middle of a long argument upon the actual reasons for psoriasis to happen.

What they all agree on is:

• psoriasis is hereditary – the chances of relatives to have it are quite high;
• there’s a known gene connected directly with this skin disease;
• psoriasis is mostly associated with extremely dry or damage skin;
• certain medicines and cosmetics are known to cause the illness;
• there may be a yet unknown infecting organism that spreads psoriasis;
• HIV (AIDS) patients often have severe cases of psoriasis;
• there may be a lot of causes and triggers still unknown.

As you can see, the situation doesn’t sound very positive. The question is how do you treat psoriasis if so little is known about the causes? Fortunately there are quite a lot of ways with different levels of efficiency.

If you ask your local dermatologist how to treat psoriasis, he will most probably tell you about the traditional ways. First of all – there are lots of skin disease ointments that in one way or another help regenerate the skin and keep it moisturized. That’s okay, you may say, but how to treat psoriasis on scalp? You can’t just go on and cover your head with petroleum jelly (vaseline) or mineral salts (of course, there’s this semi-new and effective “Taclonex Scalp” ointment, but it doesn’t change the situation a lot). That’s a good question and it lets us move to the second traditional way of treatment.

It has long been known that sunlight affects psoriatic skin positively. Later after that discovery, scientists have isolated the most effective light wavelength for phototherapy. Special lamps UVB and UVA are already widespread and such treatment can be conducted even at home. It is usually accompanied by the usage of psoralen – a drug that, when triggered by UVA light, starts regenerating skin cells at a tremendous pace.

Let’s get backto the question – how to treat psoriasis on the scalp? This is your first convenient answer – an effective course of PUVA therapy will give you a good result without having to “polish” your head with greasy ointments.

Someone may have already thought of laser treatment. If you did – you’re right. In fact, what don’t they cure with lasers today? Coherent light beams of different wavelengths tend to have surprising effects and psoriasis treatment is not an exception. A specialized excimer laser that emits focused UV beam appears to be extremely effective at treating even severe cases of psoriasis. The only problem here is the fact that you can’t sit at home and radiate your scalp with a UV laser – it’s large, heavy and expensive.

Here’s your second answer to the question on how to treat psoriasis of the scalp. Laser technology and specialized clinics – another type of phototherapy.

You should know, though, that any kind of UV treatment is risky. The danger lies in the prolonged exposure of skin to ultraviolet radiation. Even though medical UVB and UVA lamps emit light of a certain wavelength, isolated from all the rest of ultraviolet specter, excessive application will lead to grave consequences. Of course, skin cancer (squamous cell carcinoma) will make a person forget about his psoriasis, but it’s not a result we hope for, using sun lamp for psoriasis.

So, how do you treat psoriasis of the scalp?

Now, if you ask a specialized psoriasis doctor, he would probably add a few more ways, less traditional and researched into. They usually include diets, vitamins and some changes the patient has to apply to his way of life.

The efficiency of such treatment is yet to be proven, but as logic suggests, there’s nothing more effective than the right application of a certain form and amount of energy. Nowadays one can easily buy a UV lamp and get rid of the nasty-looking skin on his scalp.

Once you’re well-informed on the treatment method itself and the possible consequences of violation, you can sit in a cozy armchair, watch the game and fight the illness just by applying the light on your head. When it comes to convenience, time and money – nothing beats a personal UV lamp.

Research on psoriasis treatment is conducted every day in lots of scientific and medical institutions. If this question still itches you – try contacting one of the foundations, they may have all the answers you need. You can also find another article about scalp psoriasis treatment in our blog https://uvb-lamps.com/blog/scalp-psoriasis-treatment/