Beware, smoking can affect your skin and worsen psoriasis

From hindustantimes.com

While quitting smoking doesn’t cure psoriasis, smoking aggravates the symptoms and may make the disease significantly worse, say experts.

There is growing evidence that people living with psoriasis ought to be extra careful before lighting up a cigarette. While quitting smoking doesn’t cure psoriasis, smoking aggravates the symptoms and may make the disease significantly worse.
According to Dr Abir Saraswat, National Coordinator, Special Interest Group — Psoriasis, Indian Association of Dermatologists, Venereologists and Leprologists (IADVL), “Smoking, in general, is a huge risk factor for developing psoriasis, affecting the onset of psoriasis and its clinical appearance. Moreover, many psoriasis patients tend to smoke to cope with the emotional and mental implications of the disease — such as stress or anxiety — which negatively affect psoriasis. This vicious circle of stress and smoking triggers the disease even further.”
According to a study, smoking doubles a person’s risk of developing psoriasis which eventually increases with the number of cigarettes smoked per day. This number is higher in women than men. The risk for psoriasis in women who smoke more than 20 cigarettes per day is about 2.5 times greater than that in non-smokers. For men, the risk is about 1.7 times greater than non-smokers.

Things to know
• Apart from nicotine, nickel (another ingredient in cigarette smoke) can also contribute towards psoriasis worsening as a result of heavy metal toxicity in your body.
• While dealing with psoriasis, a person goes through emotional stress and habits like smoking can stretch the stress period and worsen the situation.
• Smoking can reduce the level of moisture in your skin, making it dry and itchy.

The bottom line
• If you don’t smoke, don’t start, especially if you are a woman. You have a higher risk of developing psoriasis than men.
• If you do smoke, consider quitting — you may have a higher likelihood of remission.
• Focus on positive, healthy ways to cope with stress and anxiety. Try meditation, counselling, sleep adequately, eat healthy and exercise. It’s never too late to stop.

It is not easy to quit smoking or tobacco, but it’s definitely worth trying to improve your health. The study that found smoking increases risk of psoriasis also showed that giving up significantly reduced the risk of psoriasis — after 20 years it was at the same level as people who had never lighted a cigarette in their life. In fact, one may see an improvement in the skin in a matter of weeks as blood flow improves, and levels of nutrients are restored.

https://www.hindustantimes.com/fitness/beware-smoking-can-affect-your-skin-and-worsen-psoriasis/story-wNR6Zz44sJjzwgVXfQkHEM.html

The Newest Psoriasis Treatments Will Have You Wearing Short Sleeves Again

From rd.com

While there is still no cure for psoriasis, new treatments now allow millions of people who live with this inflammatory skin condition to sport short sleeves once again. One expert even called it "the most incredible time in the treatment of psoriasis." We've got the scoop on all of the latest psoriasis treatments and how they can get you clear.

"For the first time ever, the newest biologics can take someone from having psoriasis to no psoriasis. They are completely clear," says Mark Kauffman, MD, an associate clinical professor of dermatology at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City. Given by shot or intravenous (IV) infusion, biologics are reserved for people with moderate to severe psoriasis. In the past, biologic drugs tended to aim their bow and arrow at tumour necrosis factor-alpha, which plays a role in the inflammatory cascade known to cause psoriasis. The newest crop of biologics, however, gets even more specific in their aim, making them that much more effective and safe. They are even effective if someone has tried and failed or stopped responding to older biologics.

Bruce Strober, MD, chair of dermatology at UConn Health and professor of dermatology at UConn School of Medicine, with offices in Farmington and Canton, Conn. agrees. "The most exciting new treatments for psoriasis lately are Tremfya, Cosentyx, Siliq, and Taltz as they clear most patients who receive them and have very few side effects, and no need for blood test monitoring (except for a pre-treatment test for tuberculosis)," he says. Biologics do confer their share of risks namely infections because they work by suppressing your immune system. This new crop is thought to be more "skin-specific" which means there is less broad immunosuppression and thus a lower risk for infections.

Combo dream creams (or foams)

There is no cure for psoriasis, that said, there are some new combinations of topical steroids and vitamin D that pack a one-two punch against the inflammation and scaling of psoriasis and are helping people with moderate psoriasis get and stay clear. Taclonex ointment is a once-daily medication for psoriasis that is used for up to eight weeks to treat (and delete) scalp and body plaque psoriasis. (This is also the only FDA-approved treatment for teens with scalp psoriasis, and the once-a-day regimen means teens are more likely to use the ointment as directed.) It also comes as a foam and goes by the name of Enstilar®. The foam formulation may allow people to use it on larger body areas.

Weight loss

Is this a newfangled psoriasis treatment? Not exactly, but a growing body of evidence suggesting that psoriasis is more than skin deep has made weight loss a key part of therapy. Psoriasis can increase the risk of heart disease and diabetes so doing everything to lower these risks is essential, Dr. Farber says. "Losing weight is key as is regular exercise, which can be difficult if people also have psoriatic arthritis," he says. And weight loss works wonders. Danish researchers found that obese people with psoriasis who lost 10 to 15 percent of their excess weight saw lasting improvements in their symptoms, as reported in the Journal of Investigative Dermatology.

Phototherapy advances

Phototherapy has been a mainstay in psoriasis treatment for years, but today's therapies are more effective and safer, says Dr. Farber. In particular, narrowband ultraviolet B (UVB) devices and excimer lasers can help clear psoriasis and allow you to wear short sleeves again, he says. Both treatments use UVB light, which reduces inflammation, slows the abnormal skin cell growth that drives psoriasis, and minimizes the plaques. The excimer laser zaps psoriasis plaques with a wand-like device that emits high-intensity beam of UVB light, and it works really well, he says. These treatments can be combined with other therapies to boost results. The downside? Both involve multiple trips to the dermatologist's office for treatments.

Coming soon

There are even more treatments for psoriasis on the horizon: IDP-118 (halobetasol propionate and tazarotene) lotion is an investigational topical treatment for plaque psoriasis. Halobetasol propionate is a steroid that cools inflammation, and tazarotene is a topical retinoid that slows the rate at which skin cells develop. Both ingredients are approved to treat plaque psoriasis, but due to side effects, their use is limited to shorter durations. The new formulation may cut back on those side effects allowing people to use the cream for longer periods of time. Stay tuned.There are also new biologics being investigated that may be even more targeted, Dr. Kauffman predicts. Most available biologics are given weekly, biweekly or monthly. "It's plausible in next five years, we will have biologics that are given once a year and then you will have no psoriasis for rest of the year. It's the most incredible time in the treatment of psoriasis."

https://www.rd.com/health/conditions/new-psoriasis-treatments/