By Abdulmubeen Mundewadi
Autoimmune disorders are diseases in which the immune system of the body attacks normal healthy tissue and produces different symptoms of diseases. Nearly 160 diseases are listed as autoimmune disorders; common ones include rheumatoid arthritis, type 1 diabetes, psoriasis, alopecia areata, SLE, thyroiditis, Addison's disease, pernicious anaemia, celiac disease, Multiple Sclerosis, and Guillain Barre Syndrome.
A genetic predisposition is usually required for the commencement of autoimmune disorders, along with environmental triggers such as infections (bacteria, virus), food allergies, toxins (drugs, smoking, hair dyes, and chemicals) and physical trauma. Common symptoms include joint and muscle pain, general muscle weakness, rashes, low-grade fever, lack of concentration, weight loss, numbness and tingling, dry eyes, hair loss, breathlessness, and palpitations. The hallmark of autoimmune disorders is inflammation, which can affect the heart, brain, lungs, nerves, muscles, skin, eyes, joints, kidneys, glands (thyroid, pancreas etc.) and produce symptoms according to the organ and tissue affected.
The modern system of treatment of autoimmune diseases is by suppressing the immunity with the use of steroids or non steroid medicines such as cyclophosphamide, and vaccines where possible. This treatment can give good results on a short-term basis but it does not cure the autoimmune disease and can result in serious side effects later on. Ayurvedic treatment scores positively in this aspects because it brings about immunomodulation so that the body defence system can gradually take over and help cure the disease completely. This may possibly take more time; immuno-suppressants can bring about improvement of symptoms within a few weeks to a few months, while Ayurvedic treatment may be required from a few months to a few years, depending upon the severity and complexity of the disease.
As mentioned earlier, inflammation is the hallmark of all autoimmune diseases. Steroids can treat inflammation very well; however, the long-term side effects of steroids can be as serious - or probably more serious - than the disease itself. Ayurvedic herbal medicines can significantly reduce pain and inflammation in chronic rheumatoid arthritis. Itching and recurrence of psoriasis can be treated very well with Ayurvedic treatment. Herbs can effectively treat inflammation of glands such as that occurs in thyroiditis, or inflammation and destruction of arteries, nerves, mucosa, muscles, connective tissue and skin such as that occurring in SLE, celiac disease, scleroderma, multiple sclerosis, Guillain Barre Syndrome etc.
While steroids and immunosuppressants are common therapy for all autoimmune disorders, the Ayurvedic treatment for each autoimmune disease varies considerably according to the body organs or systems affected. Medical protocol for treatment will also vary considerably according to the severity of symptoms, as well as the treatment response of affected individuals. Most medicines which act on the 'Rakta', 'Mansa', 'Med', and 'Majja' tissues are effective in the treatment of autoimmune disorders. These include herbs like Manjishtha (Rubia cordifolia), Saariva (Hemidesmus indicus), Kutki (Picrorrhiza kurroa), and Patol (Tricosanthe dioica). Immunomodulating herbs are also quite important for treating autoimmune diseases and include Ashwagandha (Withania somnifera), Bala (Sida cordifolia), Guduchi (Tinospora cordifolia) and Amalaki (Emblica officinalis).
Most affected individuals on immuno-suppressants experience a relapse or flare-up after about 5 to 6 months of therapy. Ayurvedic treatment may bring about improvement within 4 to 6 months; however the slow improvement is worth it since the patient start going into a full remission and the disease can be completely controlled with regular therapy of 12 to 24 months. After this, medicines can be gradually tapered and stopped completely. Further treatment can be given as short courses as and when - or if - required. Ayurvedic treatment can thus be utilized successfully to provide a comprehensive treatment for most of the common autoimmune disorders.
http://ezinearticles.com/?Autoimmune-Disorders---Ayurvedic-Herbal-Treatment&id=9201545
Thursday, 29 October 2015
Saturday, 24 October 2015
Shampoo For Psoriasis
By Grey Garde House
If you've been informed you are suffering with scalp psoriasis most probably your scalp psoriasis remedy will make use of a psoriasis shampoo. Other scalp remedies occasionally includes lotions, ouils and even creams. Psoriasis shampoo's can be easily located in most any drug store. The active ingredients in these shampoos will incorporate salicylic acid or tar. You should probably start by using a salicylic acid shampoo initially as tar shampoos often times have a strong odour. If you've been diagnosed with scalp eczema then you should look for a scalp eczema shampoo that has been formulated specifically for this condition.
You might find several scalp psoriasis shampoo. Regularly these include oils, minerals or alterations to your diet. These usually work for a few people but the amount of times they work is reduced. There are very few scalp psoriasis home treatments that include creating a shampoo. For shampoos it is advised that you stay on recognised brands with recognized ingredients for the therapy of psoriasis.
When picking out a shampoo for your problem you may want to check out a couple of scalp psoriasis shampoo web sites. Still, be extremely careful which internet sites you use for these critiques because most of them are just websites that are looking to to sell you products and the reviews may not be real. The food and drug administration only recognizes a couple of active constituents as topical treatments for psoriasis in shampoos. The two most common ingredients are tar and salicylic acid. The shampoos either use either but not normally both in their ingredients. For more severe problems you should look for a Scalp Psoriasis Shampoo with a greater percentage of these ingredients. The most efficient products normally have around three percent in them. You should also search for ingredients that moisturize the scalp. The active constituents are created to help disperse the excess of red patches on the scalp. Nevertheless, you will need a shampoo with excellent moisturizing properties to assists it heal naturally.
Before using any store purchased shampoo for the treatment of psoriasis you should in reality be sure you have psoriasis. If you've not been diagnosed by a physician then the least you should do is review a number of scalp psoriasis pictures on a web site to see if it appears like your skin condition. Another common scalp condition is seborrheic dermatitis. The difference between seborrheic dermatitis and psoriasis can be established with a simple inspection of the scalp. Psoriasis will appear dry and silvery in color. Seborrheic dermatitis can look yellowish and oily. If you don't have any scaling or raised patches but you do have skin that is flaking then you will probably just have a straightforward sort of dandruff.
http://goarticles.com/article/Shampoo-For-Psoriasis/8533502/
If you've been informed you are suffering with scalp psoriasis most probably your scalp psoriasis remedy will make use of a psoriasis shampoo. Other scalp remedies occasionally includes lotions, ouils and even creams. Psoriasis shampoo's can be easily located in most any drug store. The active ingredients in these shampoos will incorporate salicylic acid or tar. You should probably start by using a salicylic acid shampoo initially as tar shampoos often times have a strong odour. If you've been diagnosed with scalp eczema then you should look for a scalp eczema shampoo that has been formulated specifically for this condition.
You might find several scalp psoriasis shampoo. Regularly these include oils, minerals or alterations to your diet. These usually work for a few people but the amount of times they work is reduced. There are very few scalp psoriasis home treatments that include creating a shampoo. For shampoos it is advised that you stay on recognised brands with recognized ingredients for the therapy of psoriasis.
When picking out a shampoo for your problem you may want to check out a couple of scalp psoriasis shampoo web sites. Still, be extremely careful which internet sites you use for these critiques because most of them are just websites that are looking to to sell you products and the reviews may not be real. The food and drug administration only recognizes a couple of active constituents as topical treatments for psoriasis in shampoos. The two most common ingredients are tar and salicylic acid. The shampoos either use either but not normally both in their ingredients. For more severe problems you should look for a Scalp Psoriasis Shampoo with a greater percentage of these ingredients. The most efficient products normally have around three percent in them. You should also search for ingredients that moisturize the scalp. The active constituents are created to help disperse the excess of red patches on the scalp. Nevertheless, you will need a shampoo with excellent moisturizing properties to assists it heal naturally.
Before using any store purchased shampoo for the treatment of psoriasis you should in reality be sure you have psoriasis. If you've not been diagnosed by a physician then the least you should do is review a number of scalp psoriasis pictures on a web site to see if it appears like your skin condition. Another common scalp condition is seborrheic dermatitis. The difference between seborrheic dermatitis and psoriasis can be established with a simple inspection of the scalp. Psoriasis will appear dry and silvery in color. Seborrheic dermatitis can look yellowish and oily. If you don't have any scaling or raised patches but you do have skin that is flaking then you will probably just have a straightforward sort of dandruff.
http://goarticles.com/article/Shampoo-For-Psoriasis/8533502/
Saturday, 17 October 2015
Psoriasis and Stress - Not a Good Combination
By Ashish Kumar Agrawal
Psoriasis is a skin problem which is affecting more than 2% of the people in the world. Unfortunately, the modern medical science is yet to come out with the exact cause of psoriasis. In alternative medical treatments like Naturopathy, Homeopathy and Ayurveda also, health experts are still clueless. There is a long list of possible causes for psoriasis and stress is definitely one of them. It is the common experience of the majority of the people suffering from psoriasis that stressful days and events make their psoriasis worse. Whatever be the cause of stress - job, business, academics or personal relationships; every time their psoriasis responds in a negative way.
What is Stress
Stress is the body's response to various unfavorable incidents happening in the life. The response can be physical (shivering, trembling) or mental (depression, fear, anxiety) or both. The term "unfavorable incidents" refers to various changes in personal and professional life. It is natural to resist changes in life. Any individual would feel stressed when exposed to changes that would affect his life as a whole.
A short list of most common life events which can cause stress is:
· Pressure to improve job performance
· Job change/ job interview
· Sudden life threatening experience
· Performance to get good grades in academics
· Peer pressure/ social pressure
· Differences with your loved ones
· Any chronic health problem
How Stress affects Psoriasis
Chronic stress is a definite trigger for psoriasis. It results in hormonal imbalance, low energy levels and nutritional deficiency. It can upset your stomach, affect your food habits and increase the dependency on addictions like alcohol and smoking. All these factors would eventually affect your body immunity and we all know that psoriasis is an auto-immune disorder.
· Stress causes inflammation
Whenever you feel stressed, your body defends itself by sending out chemicals that cause inflammation. Chronic stress means severe inflammation, which can definitely worsen your psoriasis.
· Stress encourages bad food habits
Stress causes an urge for consuming junk foods rich in salt, sugar and saturated fats. Also, a number of times, you overeat to neutralize the impact of stress. Sometimes, it happens that you make a resolution of staying away from junk foods to improve your health and suddenly under a fierce attack of stress, you end up eating a large piece of hot dog and a can of Pepsi. Hence, stress encourages the consumption of ready to eat and highly processed junk foods which are not at all good for you if you are dealing with psoriasis.
· Stress disturbs your lifestyle
Chronic stress can cause sleep disorders (insomnia) and irregular food habits. Irregular food habits like skipping meals, overeating and eating in a hurried way would cause various digestion related issues like acid reflux, hyper acidity, indigestion and constipation. All these issues can increase the level of toxins in your body and affect your body immunity to worsen psoriasis. Similarly improper sleep can also trigger psoriasis.
· Stress can increase the consumption of alcohol and tobacco (smoking)
A lot of times, people used to take shelter under the umbrella of addictions like alcohol and smoking to pacify the high level of stress in their lives. The negative impact of alcohol and smoking on psoriasis is well acknowledged. Smoking is far bigger a culprit than alcohol for majority of the people having psoriasis.
· Stress weakens your body's defense system
When your body is under chronic stress, then the body's defense mechanism would be constantly overworking to keep various unhealthy foreign matters to attack you. If such a state of stress lasts for a longer time, then, eventually, your defense system would get impaired and almost give up. It would make you an easier target for various diseases causing viruses, fungi and bacteria to attack your body.
The vicious circle of Psoriasis and Stress
By now, we have understood that stress has a role to play in psoriasis development and flare up. But, the story is not that simple. Psoriasis itself also causes stress. When you have psoriasis patches on various parts of your body, then public staring and their questions are quite obvious. This can be quite a stressful condition to deal with. Hence, it becomes a vicious circle of stress and psoriasis which can prove very hard to get out of.
How to deal with stress
Luckily, there are healing techniques like yoga, meditation, relaxation and massage therapies which can help in dealing with stress. Not to forget, regular exercise can also play a very big role in stress management.
Accepting your problem helps in relieving stress
Running away from the problem or denying it never helps. It actually increases stress and anxiety. So, there is a need of accepting the problem wholeheartedly and then making the best possible efforts to heal it. Accepting the problem never means quitting. It simply means - I accept my problem, I am not shamed of it and now I would make sincere efforts to heal it. This positive attitude would help in reducing the psoriasis related stress tremendously.
http://ezinearticles.com/?Psoriasis-and-Stress---Not-a-Good-Combination&id=9194180
Psoriasis is a skin problem which is affecting more than 2% of the people in the world. Unfortunately, the modern medical science is yet to come out with the exact cause of psoriasis. In alternative medical treatments like Naturopathy, Homeopathy and Ayurveda also, health experts are still clueless. There is a long list of possible causes for psoriasis and stress is definitely one of them. It is the common experience of the majority of the people suffering from psoriasis that stressful days and events make their psoriasis worse. Whatever be the cause of stress - job, business, academics or personal relationships; every time their psoriasis responds in a negative way.
What is Stress
Stress is the body's response to various unfavorable incidents happening in the life. The response can be physical (shivering, trembling) or mental (depression, fear, anxiety) or both. The term "unfavorable incidents" refers to various changes in personal and professional life. It is natural to resist changes in life. Any individual would feel stressed when exposed to changes that would affect his life as a whole.
A short list of most common life events which can cause stress is:
· Pressure to improve job performance
· Job change/ job interview
· Sudden life threatening experience
· Performance to get good grades in academics
· Peer pressure/ social pressure
· Differences with your loved ones
· Any chronic health problem
How Stress affects Psoriasis
Chronic stress is a definite trigger for psoriasis. It results in hormonal imbalance, low energy levels and nutritional deficiency. It can upset your stomach, affect your food habits and increase the dependency on addictions like alcohol and smoking. All these factors would eventually affect your body immunity and we all know that psoriasis is an auto-immune disorder.
· Stress causes inflammation
Whenever you feel stressed, your body defends itself by sending out chemicals that cause inflammation. Chronic stress means severe inflammation, which can definitely worsen your psoriasis.
· Stress encourages bad food habits
Stress causes an urge for consuming junk foods rich in salt, sugar and saturated fats. Also, a number of times, you overeat to neutralize the impact of stress. Sometimes, it happens that you make a resolution of staying away from junk foods to improve your health and suddenly under a fierce attack of stress, you end up eating a large piece of hot dog and a can of Pepsi. Hence, stress encourages the consumption of ready to eat and highly processed junk foods which are not at all good for you if you are dealing with psoriasis.
· Stress disturbs your lifestyle
Chronic stress can cause sleep disorders (insomnia) and irregular food habits. Irregular food habits like skipping meals, overeating and eating in a hurried way would cause various digestion related issues like acid reflux, hyper acidity, indigestion and constipation. All these issues can increase the level of toxins in your body and affect your body immunity to worsen psoriasis. Similarly improper sleep can also trigger psoriasis.
· Stress can increase the consumption of alcohol and tobacco (smoking)
A lot of times, people used to take shelter under the umbrella of addictions like alcohol and smoking to pacify the high level of stress in their lives. The negative impact of alcohol and smoking on psoriasis is well acknowledged. Smoking is far bigger a culprit than alcohol for majority of the people having psoriasis.
· Stress weakens your body's defense system
When your body is under chronic stress, then the body's defense mechanism would be constantly overworking to keep various unhealthy foreign matters to attack you. If such a state of stress lasts for a longer time, then, eventually, your defense system would get impaired and almost give up. It would make you an easier target for various diseases causing viruses, fungi and bacteria to attack your body.
The vicious circle of Psoriasis and Stress
By now, we have understood that stress has a role to play in psoriasis development and flare up. But, the story is not that simple. Psoriasis itself also causes stress. When you have psoriasis patches on various parts of your body, then public staring and their questions are quite obvious. This can be quite a stressful condition to deal with. Hence, it becomes a vicious circle of stress and psoriasis which can prove very hard to get out of.
How to deal with stress
Luckily, there are healing techniques like yoga, meditation, relaxation and massage therapies which can help in dealing with stress. Not to forget, regular exercise can also play a very big role in stress management.
Accepting your problem helps in relieving stress
Running away from the problem or denying it never helps. It actually increases stress and anxiety. So, there is a need of accepting the problem wholeheartedly and then making the best possible efforts to heal it. Accepting the problem never means quitting. It simply means - I accept my problem, I am not shamed of it and now I would make sincere efforts to heal it. This positive attitude would help in reducing the psoriasis related stress tremendously.
http://ezinearticles.com/?Psoriasis-and-Stress---Not-a-Good-Combination&id=9194180
Saturday, 3 October 2015
Psoriasis Diet - Holistic Healing Approach
By Ashish Kumar Agrawal
http://ezinearticles.com/?Psoriasis-Diet---Holistic-Healing-Approach&id=9169568
Psoriasis is a long lasting skin condition, one of the most hard to treat skin conditions along with eczema. According to Wikipedia, more than 2% of the total world's population is affected by this problem. But, the medical world is yet to come out with the exact cause of this problem. Accordingly, there is no known cure for psoriasis. In general, it is considered as an autoimmune disorder when your faulty immune system sends wrong signals to your body causing exponential growth in your skin cells, resulting in thick psoriasis patches on various parts of your body like scalp, knees, elbows, back, forehead, behind the ears, underarms, under the breasts and other parts also. These skin patches are reddish white or silvery white in color. Increased skin dryness and inflammation are associated with these psoriasis flakes.
Holistic healing approach
As pointed earlier, as of now, psoriasis can't be cured, but can be managed to live a better life. Modern medical science is still clueless about the psoriasis cause and varieties of steroids based topical treatment medications are prescribed to control the symptoms. Topical treatment medications are those medications which are applied on your skin directly like creams, shampoos and oils. Coal tar based shampoos and salicylic acid based creams are very common. Also, steroidal immunosuppressants like methotrexate are given to the patients to calm down the immune system. The patient is supposed to use these medications for almost the whole lifetime. Hence, the potential side effects of these steroid based medications can't be denied. For example, the use of methotrexate in the long term can have negative effects on the liver. Similarly, alcohol also damages in lives in the long run. So, if a person consumes alcohol regularly and taking methotrexate to control psoriasis, then the combined effect of alcohol and methotrexate can severely damage the liver in the long run.
That's why a holistic healing approach is attracting more and more people to manage their psoriasis.
Holistic healing of psoriasis works on the principle that psoriasis is an internal body metabolism related disorder and skin flakes on your body are just an indication that your body's internal house is not in order. Holistic healing approach works on five basic aspects:
Psoriasis Diet
Diet plays the most important role in psoriasis healing as far as holistic healing is concerned. Impaired liver and poor digestive system coupled with stress can increase the level of body toxins beyond permissible limits. Consuming a diet which helps in body detoxification, boosts the body immunity and most importantly, easy to digest is a very good way to make peace with psoriasis. An ideal psoriasis diet would include eating a lot of fresh fruits and vegetables and whole grains. Most of the green vegetables are alkaline foods and they are highly recommended to drift the body pH towards optimum body pH level (slightly alkaline). Drinking a lot of water and fresh green juices is also beneficial.
Various foods which are not good for psoriasis are: animal fat like dairy and red meat, allergy causing foods like wheat gluten and nightshades, sweetened carbonated drinks, caffeinated drinks, highly processed foods like bakery, pizza and pasta. Minimizing the consumption of alcohol and smoking is also highly recommendable.
Holistic healing approach
As pointed earlier, as of now, psoriasis can't be cured, but can be managed to live a better life. Modern medical science is still clueless about the psoriasis cause and varieties of steroids based topical treatment medications are prescribed to control the symptoms. Topical treatment medications are those medications which are applied on your skin directly like creams, shampoos and oils. Coal tar based shampoos and salicylic acid based creams are very common. Also, steroidal immunosuppressants like methotrexate are given to the patients to calm down the immune system. The patient is supposed to use these medications for almost the whole lifetime. Hence, the potential side effects of these steroid based medications can't be denied. For example, the use of methotrexate in the long term can have negative effects on the liver. Similarly, alcohol also damages in lives in the long run. So, if a person consumes alcohol regularly and taking methotrexate to control psoriasis, then the combined effect of alcohol and methotrexate can severely damage the liver in the long run.
That's why a holistic healing approach is attracting more and more people to manage their psoriasis.
Holistic healing of psoriasis works on the principle that psoriasis is an internal body metabolism related disorder and skin flakes on your body are just an indication that your body's internal house is not in order. Holistic healing approach works on five basic aspects:
- Change in diet
- Change in lifestyle
- Stress management
- Use of natural herbs and supplements
- Using non-steroidal topical treatments
Psoriasis Diet
Diet plays the most important role in psoriasis healing as far as holistic healing is concerned. Impaired liver and poor digestive system coupled with stress can increase the level of body toxins beyond permissible limits. Consuming a diet which helps in body detoxification, boosts the body immunity and most importantly, easy to digest is a very good way to make peace with psoriasis. An ideal psoriasis diet would include eating a lot of fresh fruits and vegetables and whole grains. Most of the green vegetables are alkaline foods and they are highly recommended to drift the body pH towards optimum body pH level (slightly alkaline). Drinking a lot of water and fresh green juices is also beneficial.
Various foods which are not good for psoriasis are: animal fat like dairy and red meat, allergy causing foods like wheat gluten and nightshades, sweetened carbonated drinks, caffeinated drinks, highly processed foods like bakery, pizza and pasta. Minimizing the consumption of alcohol and smoking is also highly recommendable.
In his early 30s, Ashish Agarwal hails from India. He is dealing with psoriasis for the last 10 years. He found a way to live a better life by managing his psoriasis by using a restricted psoriasis diet and making positive changes in his lifestyle.
http://ezinearticles.com/?Psoriasis-Diet---Holistic-Healing-Approach&id=9169568
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