(Part 2) Top products from r/Psoriasis

I too suffer from palmar psoriasis (plantar also)

I really, really hope yours stays at this level forever, and it might. There are a bunch of treatment options to keep it under control when it's at this level. But also understand that it may get worse.

Mine looked like yours for many years. At age 50 it went nuts with no lifestyle changes. I'm now on Cosentyx along with Clobetasol ointment to keep things in check. The good news is I have it beat back to where I can function normally and am nearly clear.

When I was at your level of severity, UVB was actually fairly effective for me. First with office visits and then my insurer bought a light box after it was shown to be effective so I could do it at home. UVB doesn't work for everyone, but could be worth a try.

I also used Clobetasol ointment. It's another steroid topical. The ointment seemed to penetrate that scale on the palm better then the cream, so I preferred that.

Here's a comment I did on my care regimen when it got worse.

https://www.reddit.com/r/Psoriasis/comments/9q1m41/help_ive_had_psoriasis_my_whole_life_want_to/e86xz29

If you live in a climate where the air dries out at all, especially in the winter, I recommend a humidifier. It makes a big difference for me. I use this Honeywell model. Fair price, evaporative, big tanks, cheap replacement batting. Use a no-heat evaporative humidifier. It's the best for pumping a lot of moisture into the air.

https://www.amazon.com/Honeywell-Cool-Moisture-Console-Humidifier/dp/B000G0LDRI

Lastly, even though I have the psoriasis fairly controlled, I still live in nitrile gloves. I buy them by the case (1,300 Curad exam gloves for about $153 at Walgreens.com) and they'll last me about 8 months. The Curad gloves are a good price/performance point. Cooking, cleaning, working on the car, I always wear them. It continues to make a big difference for me. I will sometimes get a fissure still on a knuckle and the gloves help keep the air off of it and keeps it from stinging so much. I also wear them under work gloves for outdoor work. It helps. They seem yucky and clumsy at first when you wear them, but at this point they're completely natural for me. I keep boxes of gloves in several locations in the house and garage and put them on without thinking if I'm going to do anything with my hands.

Oh, you asked about continuing the steroid cream. I was told by my derm that the palms are a place where you can use the steroid topical forever as long as I take short breaks periodically because the skin is thick there. Your dermatologist is the one that should advise on this, but if possible I would continue with the steroid topical if it helps at all.

Best wishes.

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Sorry, but while I genuinely appreciate that it worked for you, I advise people to please do not buy this book and please stop advertising it in this sub. It's pseudoscientific nonsense from beginning to end.

The author, John Pagano, was not a doctor, and certainly not a dermatologist. Very little of the science attempted in the book is real. For example, Pagano claims psoriasis is caused by a "leaky gut" (not a real thing) and toxins (not a real thing either in the sense he's talking about it) migrating from the gut to the skin; all of these ideas have long been debunked, and this sub should not encourage bullshit, magical thinking like this.

The mechanisms behind psoriasis are much better understood than Pagano claims, and the causes are not what he thinks they are. He thinks the spine is involved, and devotes an entire chapter on it. Why? Because he's a chiropractic. Psoriasis is an autoimmune disease. It's not related to the spine.

The diet suggestions in the book are not new or specific to the book, and are arguably the only sensible area he touches on. Psoriasis sufferers are better reading other, more thorough sources, such as the autoimmune protocol.

The other remedies mentioned in the book are a waste of money and time. Steroids, coal tar, vitamin D, UVB phototherapy, weight reduction, exercise, meditation, abstaining from alcohol and cigarettes — these are remedies that are known, scientifically, to work. Not correcting your damn spine.

If you want a great book on psoriasis, get An Atlas of Psoriasis by Professor Lionel Fry, a dermatologist. You can get used copies for as little as $18.

Oh man! I’m sorry! I have a bunch of suggestions, I have to admit I have never been at that level of psoriasis despite the fact that I’ve had psoriasis for over 10 years! So here is my list just in case it works for you:

1. I drink lemon water every morning on an empty stomach
   
2. I use specific soaps like Medimix or tea tree oil and Neem soap.
   
3. I use this moisturizer
   
4. I drink over 2L of water a day!
   
5. I don’t smoke
   
6. I cut down on drinking
   
7. I eat raw food and avoid fast food
   
8. I won’t lie and say I exercise but I walk my dogs three times a day and try to run with them.
   
9. I try to meditate once a day and I take herbal stress relievers!
   
10. I wash my face with face wash that has salicylic acid.
    
    That’s literally all I do, but ever since I toned down my drinking I noticed that my skin was 80 % better
    
    I won’t lie I live in France where they are extremely strict about what goes into the food and other products whether it be beauty or otherwise. When I lived in the US my breakouts were horrific, as soon as I moved to France everything changed! So it may be worth buying 100% organic only products!
    
    Wish you the best!

My insomnia is all due to chronic stress, so I empathise with you on that. I had a blissful 3 months a while back where I improved my living situation, money and so on, and the effects were so great.

I slept well, and woke up feeling refreshed and happy. My skin cleared, even my hair felt like it had a new lease on life. Then that situation ended and back came all the bad stuff. It is a massive part of how our bodies run, yet we so often neglect our happiness because of 1st world responsibilities.

As for waking up groggy, I always thought that happened to me because of the antihistamines I take to help me sleep, but it turns out it may be adrenal gland fatigue.

That is the first site I saw that explains it well, but from some research it really is a stress-related condition that can only be treated by relieving the stressor in the first place.

I follow this book on zen warrior exercises and in particular I do this exercise called GuanQifa, part of qigong.

I do meditate when I can, but I find I get best results when I do qigong because I focus on the breathing and movements, and my mind stays quiet more often.

As for exercise, let's see: 2.5 to 3.5kms a day, usually at jogging pace, kettlebells twice a day, 50 push-ups, 100 crunches, squats till my thighs go weak and bridge-ups for lower back relief.

But I still don't sleep well, some nights not at all.

What are your symptoms? Inflammation clearly, what else? Ask him if there are any gentle topical steroids that you can take now, even though you had the shot given to you.

Ask about the one that I use and keep talking about on here--- fluocinolone acetonide 0.01% scalp oil. It's very gentle, they even use it on babies with cradlecap, so you might be able to use it even though you had the steroid shot--- check with the derma.

My current regiment that my derma put me on is alternating between Keto 2% and this shampoo



https://www.amazon.com/Vanicream-Clear-Shampoo-Sensitive-fragrance/dp/B0006FMK98/ref=sr_1_2_a_it?ie=UTF8&qid=1518784843&sr=8-2&keywords=vanicream%2Bshampoo&th=1



and then I put Dermasmooth (the fluocinolone oil) on every other night and I use a vitamin D3 topical foam on the other nights.

This has kept me completely clear and my doctor said this is a good long-term routine for maintenance.

🤣 If I’m an angel, it’s only because my halo is held up by my horns! 🤣 Thank you, though.

Not having health insurance is so hard. Been there and done that. I’m lucky enough to have it now, but it’s absolutely ridiculous that so many folks can’t get it or can’t afford it.

Anyway, I have linked the lotion I use below just for reference in case you want something lighter than a cream. The bottle is 4 ounces, which seems to me would last forever. I have been using the one ounce sample bottle my dermatologist gave me for about six months now.

I hope your eyelids get to feeling better soon!

Hydrocortisone Lotion

Yes! Castor Oil has been the best thing I've done to control my psoriasis. I have it on my hands and castor oil is incredibly refreshing when applied. I've tried a few different types and have been most satisfied with this kind: http://www.amazon.com/Heritage-Store-Castor-Oil-Ounce/dp/B000BNRKPY/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1408606164&sr=8-2&keywords=castor+oil

Whoa, hold up. TNF-alpha and IL-12/IL-23 are all cytokines. This means that they are all small proteins that are produced by various cellular components of the immune system in order to communicate with other cells. Humira/Enbrel/etc and Stelara/Cosentyx are all equally specific for their target proteins. Actually, you could argue that Stelara is less specific, because it targets two cytokines instead of one.

As for the efficacy and negative side effects? That's going to depend on many, many, many factors, and as far as I know, the literature does not support one or the other type being "better" or "worse." All cytokines are important in their own way, and the ones currently being targeted by available biologics were chosen because they are involved in proinflammatory signaling cascades.

So much misinformation in this thread - not just your comment. Though I do understand - this stuff is insanely complicated, and many of the underlying mechanisms are not understood even by the professionals. We just know that certain things happen in these disease processes, and some things work to help alleviate symptoms.

Sources: BS in microbiology/molecular biology, specifically Kuby Immunology (7ed) - an excellent book if you are interested in immunology, though it certainly requires a strong understanding of molecular and cellular biological processes.

Trail and error with moisturizers. I use this daily in the morning and it seems to keep my face in check. I just added The Ordinary Vitamin C twice a day and a vitamin E mineral oil at night and my face is pretty happy with it.

Damn dude, sorry to hear it came on so fast. Go get a tub of Eucerin and use it liberally. It will help with pain from the cracking of your skin. I wouldn't keep doing the 2 baths a day, that will probably just make it worse.

I get it in the nether regions as well, and the best thing I've found to relieve the itching/pain is Corticool It's a ripoff on amazon but you might be able to find it at your local drug store. Fair warning, it will burn like someone took a flamethrower to your crotch for about 5-10 seconds, but then it will feel much better.

I have it on my penis, I use this lube and find it works pretty well and dosent burn. Be a gentle with him and definitely urge him to see a dermatologist, it sucks showing your junk off to a doctor but they will be able to help. I started using Eumovate on it and it helped massively.

I've been following Dr. Ely's supplements on my own for about 3 weeks now. I haven't been able to get the antibiotics yet. So just this part:

pro-biotics:

• Saccharomyces boulardii
  
• Lactobacillus rhamnosus
  
  Bile:
  
  
• Ox bile from Allergy Research Group
  
  Bioflavonoids:
  
  
• Quercetin 500mg
  
• Curcumin Phytosome with Meriva
  
  Healing the liver:
  
  
• Thisilyn 140mg
  
  ​
  
  The calming has been pretty dramatic, though I still had something of a mini flareup after first week. Likely attributable to be away from home for 4 days and not eating carefully, and/or not taking the pro-biotics since I had no way to keep them cool.

I use this to help me reach. It also helps with the dead skin. I also use Hollywood Beauty to cut down on using the topical cream. (Ive noticed the creams start to discolor my skin really bad after long term use.) I swear by this stuff. Tea Tree oil really helps out my psoriasis. I saw an immediate difference in the severity after a few days. I put it on with the scrubber at the end of my shower and do not wash it off my back. When i get out I do not wash it off with a towel. The oil will seep into your sink.

I hope this helps! I really think you'll like it if you try.

There's TONs more out there - just find one that works for you! Personally, I've found that the more medicinal a shampoo is, the less it lathers and therefore, the more annoying it is. I usually take a lil squirt of my daily shampoo to get some bubbles and work it in.

I've also got one of these things which feels amaaaaazinnggggg, but I always forget to actually use it haha.

Have you tried this diet? https://www.amazon.co.uk/Radiant-Eat-Your-Healthy-Skin/dp/0857833928

I use this one: https://www.amazon.com/DHS-Tar-Shampoo-Fluid-Ounce/dp/B000GD037G

I found this: https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0962884707/ref=cm_cr_arp_mb_bdcrb_top?ie=UTF8.

Not what you're looking for but I hadn't heard of this diet before.

Posted this in main sub but will leave this here, as well:

For the above mentioned products that helped me from AHAVA - wanted to share their current sale and my refferal link. AHAVA is a company that is from Israel and uses Dead Sea salts and mud in their products. I have tried their Clineral Psoriasis body cream , Psoriasis shampoo, Scalp mask and liquid Dead Sea salt . Also tried their dead sea bath salts but it's not the best value, you can get Minera Dead Sea Salts for much less on Amazon.

My experience:
The body cream has soothed plaques within a few days of using twice a day, morning and evening after dry brushing my skin with this Yerba Prima brush. I would use Everyday Shea lavender lotion and argan oil and within 3-4 hours I would have dryness and flaking but the cream really packs in hydration and lasts until evening.

Shampoo and scalp mask have also lessened the flakes and redness of my scalp and ear area. The shampoo doesn't lather, but it softens scalp and has no synthetic fragrance.

I use the liquid dead sea salt before the bath and wait for it to dry. It will sting, especially on first few applications but it's great at protecting your wounds from becoming infected, and will lessen the thickness of plaques.

I don't work for them and haven't even received free samples, but it's helped me so much and today's their last day of buy 1 get 1 free sale with code SUNKISSED

Here's my referral link for a further discount: https://www.ahava.com/rewardsref/index/refer/id/68177

Really hope ya'll don't mark this as spam because I've seen lots of improvement just in the few weeks I've been using the products. It's not a cure all! Just lessens itchiness and redness.