Psoriasis Specialist

What is psoriasis?

Psoriasis is a chronic condition of inflamed patches on your skin. The condition ranges from mild and hardly noticeable to severe and life-altering. If you have psoriasis, the life cycle of your skin cells is very fast and short, causing them to die quickly and build up on your skin’s surface. 

Your psoriasis flares up sometimes, but you can go years without seeing signs of it. While there’s no cure available yet for the condition, O. Jay can help you calm your symptoms with treatments and lifestyle changes.

What does psoriasis look like?

Psoriasis can look different on everyone, but it has some common symptoms that appear for most patients. Common symptoms of psoriasis are:

• Dry, cracked skin
• Skin that bleeds easily
• Red patches
• Silvery scales on top of the patches
• Small scaly spots
• Itching
• Burning
• Soreness

Psoriasis can also affect your fingernails and toenails. It can show up in a few small spots or patches or it can cover large areas of your body at one time. Typically, it comes and goes in a cycle.

How can I manage my psoriasis symptoms?

Having a flare-up of psoriasis can affect your appearance, cause discomfort, and even lead to problems with your joints. When you visit Chico Dermatology to tone down your psoriasis, O. Jay may recommend or prescribe:

• Topical corticosteroids
• Vitamin D cream
• Topical retinoids
• Moisturizers
• Laser therapy
• Phototherapy with UV light

O. Jay monitors you during treatment to make sure that your treatment isn’t giving you too many side effects and that it’s working. He begins with the most gentle treatments and works up to the stronger options if they’re necessary.

How can I manage my psoriasis symptoms at home?

There are a few changes to your lifestyle you can make outside of clinical care to reduce your psoriasis symptoms. O. Jay recommends that you:

• Reduce your alcohol consumption
• Moisturize daily
• Take baths daily
• Identify your triggers and avoid them
• Get some sunlight (as directed by O. Jay)

As long as you’re following your treatment plan closely and working to make necessary lifestyle changes at home, it will get easier to manage your psoriasis. At each appointment, be sure to ask O. Jay any questions about your condition that you have and let him know of any unusual symptoms.

Don’t let scaly skin rule your life and self-image. If you have psoriasis, don’t hesitate to call Chico Dermatology or go online to book an appointment today.