Psoriasis: Nine tips for prevention and treatment

Birdseye — Fri, 15 Jun 2007 16:30:00 GMT

Psoriasis is a chronic and distressing skin disorder afflicting around 80 million people worldwide.

Typically, it shows up as thickened red areas covered with silvery scales, usually on the scalp, elbows, knees, back and buttocks. It can also affect fingernails and toenails. The patches usually flare up periodically and symmetrically on both sides of the body. Read more about the condition here.

I’ve been trawling the blogosphere, as well as WDDTY’s archive, to find the best tips on the prevention and treatment of psoriasis. Do you know any others? Why don’t you share your tips by commenting on this article.

PSORIASIS PREVENTION

1. Do not smoke and limit your consumption of alcohol, as one study indicated that smoking may have triggered up to half the cases of palmoplantar pustular psoriasis (WDDTY: Psoriasis: most due to smoking)

2. Stress is a major cause of psoriasis, so try to maintain a stress-free lifestyle. If there is a threat of suffering from stress, follow the advice in our article on ‘Countering stress’ to combat it.

3. Limit your consumption of alcohol, as research suggests that heavy drinking can trigger psoriasis and even reduce the efficacy of treatments (ajaysharma: Psoriasis)

4. Try to avoid using Beta blockers, which can exacerbate psoriasis or trigger the development of first lesions (Psoriasis Popular: Psoriasis triggers)

PSORIASIS TREATMENT

5. Follow a diet containing plenty of fish oils, which contain components that can calm the inflammation experienced by psoriasis sufferers. (WDDTY: Psoriasis: fish oil cure)

6. Make sure you get daily doses of natural sunlight to increase vitamin D levels… but don’t get burnt (WDDTY: Psoriasis – What to do instead)

7. Drink wheat grass juice, which has reportedly helped to treat numerous conditions including arthritis, asthma, constipation and psoriasis (bryn blog: Wheat Grass – A Miracle Medicine)

8. Consider Chinese herbal medicine, which has been shown to have a positive effect on those suffering from skin conditions (WDDTY: Alternative therapies for psoriasis)

9. Eat flax seeds or take a flax seed supplement, which can relieve symptoms of psoriasis because of their high levels of Omega 3 and Omega 6 fatty acids (How to be Healthy: Your Skin Can Benefit From Taking Flax Seed)

Exercise tips

Birdseye — Fri, 08 Jun 2007 12:05:00 GMT

While my fellow Blogger at Adverse Reactions prefers to tell the horror stories of the pharmaceutical industry, I have been trawling the web looking for more positive messages from the health community. WDDTY has recently reported that you need less exercise than you think to stay fit and that the best time to exercise is after a meal, so I have been keeping my eye out for any other useful tips about exercise.

The web community has much to say about the role of exercise in combatting specific health problems. Although the role of exercise in treating arthritis has been known for some time, one recent article provides a helpful summary of the main health benefits of exercise for arthritis sufferers. Meanwhile, another report indicates that the amount and intensity of physical activity undertaken by cancer sufferers can play a vital role in their recovery and elimination of future symptoms.

As we have previously reported, regular exercise is crucial to maintaining your physical and mental health, and has been shown to improve longevity. Our recent news item indicating that you only need 10 minutes of exercise a day should reassure those for whom the thought of hours in the gym is a daunting one. But if motivation is still an issue, have a look at this blog post countering the main excuses by those who do not exercise. Another motivational message worth having a look at is '10 Ideas to Get You Exercising'.

If, like me, you find treadmills and exercise bikes a little boring, you should definitely have a look at Starlight's account of the 'Health Benefits of Belly Dance'. This informative post tells us how raks sharki, or belly dancing, is based on natural movements and so does not work against "the body's physical inclinations" like some other dance forms can. Starlight provides detailed information on the other health benefits of this particular form of exercise, which include improved posture and muscle toning, weight loss and stress reduction. It is also good preparation for childbirth, and can aid digestion. You can't get much better than that.

Birdseye: Health Tips from the Blogosphere : stress

Psoriasis: Nine tips for prevention and treatment

Exercise tips