Psoriasis Treatment
At the Institute of Dermatology and Oculoplastic Surgery, Dr. Ilya Lim offers personalized psoriasis management to help you achieve healthy, clear skin. From diagnosis to treatment, I work closely with each of my patients to create a customized care plan for treating psoriasis in Sarasota. Discover the long-term difference professional care can have for patients experiencing this common skin condition.
What Is Psoriasis?
Treating Psoriasis at Our Center
Some common psoriasis treatments include topical medications, light therapy, and systemic medications. Depending on the severity of your psoriasis, we may recommend one or a combination of these treatments to help you achieve clear skin.
If you are experiencing symptoms of psoriasis, such as red, scaly patches on your skin, it is important to schedule an appointment with a board-certified dermatologist like Dr. Lim. Early diagnosis and treatment can help prevent long-term complications and improve your quality of life.
Don’t let psoriasis control your life. Schedule an appointment with us today to start your journey towards healthier, clearer skin.
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Psoriasis Q&A
Psoriasis is a skin condition that causes inflammation in the skin and destroys healthy skin cells. If you have the condition, your body responds by producing new skin cells. But it does so at such a fast rate that the new cells migrate to the skin surface before the old ones can shed. This process leads to frustrating skin problems ranging from mild to severe. While this condition is chronic, professional care can effectively manage the symptoms and give patients a sense of control over their own skin.
While there is no single cause for the condition, research has identified a number of risk factors. Some of these may not be modifiable, but other factors can be altered with lifestyle changes.
Notably, psoriasis is NOT contagious. Risk factors can include:
- Immune system deficiencies
- A family history of the condition
- High amounts of stress
- Skin or tissue infections
- Climate (colder, drier weather in particular)
- Use of tobacco or alcohol
Plaque psoriasis, which affects the majority of all people with psoriasis, causes thick red patches
of flaky skin. Often, these patches have white or silvery scales, which are dead skin cells. This
alone can impact quality of life due to cosmetic concerns. However, many cases may have other
symptoms as well, such as itching and skin dryness.
Plaque psoriasis usually appears on the elbows, lower back, knees, and scalp but can also appear elsewhere. Other types of skin psoriasis and their symptoms include:
- Inverse psoriasis: red skin patches in areas where skin touches, like armpits
- Guttate psoriasis: small pinkish-red spots on the torso, legs, and arms
- Erythrodermic psoriasis: burn-like redness all over the body
- Pustular psoriasis: pus-filled bumps on the hands or feet
Along with the skin symptoms, some people develop nail psoriasis, resembling a nail fungus or
psoriatic arthritis, which causes joint pain.
Psoriasis symptoms often appear during flare-ups, which may arise from a specific trigger. Some of the most common psoriasis triggers include certain medications, bacteria, stress, illness, and cold weather.
While there is no definitive cure, psoriasis is a treatable condition. The Institute of Dermatology & Oculoplastic Surgery team may prescribe topical treatments that you apply directly to your skin. There are also light-based treatments that can inhibit skin cell overgrowth and reduce your symptoms.
If topical and light-based treatments aren’t effective, we may recommend stronger oral or injectable medications to reduce skin cell production, suppress inflammation, or modify the way your immune system works. The ideal treatment can vary from one patient to the next, depending on individual health and skin environment. This variability is what makes working with a professional dermatologist essential to seeing results that make a difference.