Psoriasis

Hello Yang, Thanks for the D2D. Heat and sweat can make a person feel more itchy. With psoriasis, your skin may be more sensitive to extremes of temperature. However, this is not true of all people with psoriasis and many are able to continue to exercise and lead a healthy lifestyle. In fact, psoriasis has been linked with an increase risk of heart disease, obesity, diabetes and hypertension. It is therefore important to exercise regular and maintain a healthy lifestyle.

Hello Coco, Thanks for the D2D. You are right that sunlight and UV therapy can indeed help to relieve psoriasis. You may have heard about dead sea treatment where people spend a few weeks lazing in the dead sea to treat their psoriasis. It is believed that it is the ultraviolet from the sun that helps in a large part to the improvement in psoriasis. UV therapy is employed as part of medical treatment for psoriasis. You will require 2 or 3 treatments a week. There is a small increase risk of skin cancer with the treatment and generally, we not treat beyond 200 to 250 treatment sessions.

Firstly, I think it is important to try to lead a healthy and stress-free lifestyle. Stress is hard to avoid in stressful Singapore but it is a well-known trigger of psoriasis, so do not forget to minimise stress in your life. For mild psoriasis, this is usually treated with topical medications. Topical steroids, coal tar and vitamin D analogues creams are commonly prescribed. They are effective in controlling psoriasis when there is a limited area of involvement.

Eczema is much more common in childhood compared with psoriasis. The inner elbow area or flexural area is also a more common site for atopic eczema. Psoriasis tends to affect more the extensors of the elbow and the onset is often in the later teens and twenties, although it can also occur in childhood. The diagnosis of psoriasis and eczema is usually made clinically. If you have any doubts, you can visit your doctor or dermatologist, who can give you a proper assessment of the rash.