Inverse Psoriasis

Basic information on Inverse Psoriasis

Inverse psoriasis is a skin disease that is chronic and autoimmune which is caused by skin folds or flexion creases rubbing together. People that are overweight or have excess skin folds with highly sensitive skin can get psoriasis. This type of psoriasis usually occurs in the genital area between the thigh and groin, in the armpits, under an overweight stomach and under the breasts.

There are different types of psoriasis. The common type of psoriasis would be the plaque psoriasis where a person would develop scales on the skin because the skin would regenerate in days instead of weeks. The dead skin is not able to shed fast enough that it builds up producing thick scaly patches on the skin. Inverse psoriasis however does not build up scaly patches but it causes the skin to get red and swollen.

Facts about Psoriasis

If you recently discovered you have psoriasis or just know someone that has it, here are 8 facts that you might not know about psoriasis:

• Psoriasis is not contagious. Unlike other diseases like Hepatitis or even the flu, psoriasis cannot be passed on from one person to another. It is not a communicable disease nor will you get psoriasis by just borrowing a friend’s comb or personal belongings.
• One of the causes of psoriasis to flare up is stress. A patient with psoriasis would need to relax or stress reduction
• Yeast overgrowth can also cause inverse psoriasis. This, combined with the skin’s high sensitivity to friction and sweating would cause skin lesions to form when skin folds rub together.
• Psoriasis is caused by malfunctioning T lymphocyte or T cells. Instead of T cells travelling through the body to fight foreign substances, viruses or bacteria, it causes the T cells to attack the skin mistaking it for a foreign substance.
• Psoriasis goes through a cycle that would flare up for a few days, weeks or months and then subsides for a period of time. Psoriasis might remiss for a period of time but will eventually return.
• Certain medications like lithium which is prescribed for patients with bipolar disorder, inderal which are high blood pressure medications like beta blockers, antimalarial drugs, quindine which are heart medications known to worsen some cases of psoriasis and Indomethacin which are anti-flammatory drugs that are used to treat arthritis.
• Because the skin is very sensitive in inverse psoriasis, this makes it harder to treat.
• Research finds that there is an increase risk of certain types of skin cancer for psoriatic patients. Certain types of skin cancer are the squamous cell carcinoma and lymphoma. Some patients develop this through some sort of psoriasis treatment which suppresses the immune system. Always have regular screenings for cancer to avoid this.