How to know if you have hand psoriasis ?

Psoriasis can be a particularly difficult skin disease to live with. Surveys to learn more about psoriasis, as well as extensive awareness campaigns, resulted in 2014 in the recognition of psoriasis by the World Health Organization (WHO) as a ” a chronic, painful, unsightly, disabling and incurable non-communicable disease “. This skin condition has therefore been officially recognized as a real handicap. When it affects the hands, psoriasis is often painful and particularly embarrassing to perform daily activities.

However, there are solutions to alleviate the pain of people suffering from this skin disease. We tell you everything about hand psoriasis !

Hand psoriasis: how to recognize it ?

As you may have guessed, hand psoriasis of the hands Psoriasis is a particular form of this chronic inflammatory, autoimmune skin condition that is not contagious. A quick reminder: psoriasis is characterized by skin inflammation: most often red patches of skin are formed, well-defined, associated with desquamation – as the skin cells renew themselves at an accelerated rate, the epidermis eliminates them by whitish crusts that fall off. Psoriasis occurs in flare-ups and people with psoriasis will often have several forms of psoriasis – depending on the areas it affects.

Know that there is psoriasis of the nails, scalp, folds, face or genitals.

When psoriasis affects the hands, it is more commonly referred to as palmo-plantar psoriasis. In fact, hand psoriasis and foot psoriasis are very similar: in this form, it affects the palms of the hands or the soles of the feet.

Note that it is rare that the fingers or toes are affected, but that the top of the hand or foot can be affected. The lesions are specific to this type of psoriasis: they are very dry, and especially the affected areas crack. It should also be noted that it is a pustular psoriasis: small pustules form on the skin of affected patients.

They are aseptic – not infected, but highly inflammatory.

This form is therefore different from classic psoriasis patches, even though the pustules form a kind of red patch. It should be noted that itching is very common in this form of the disease. Palmoplantar psoriasis is also painful, both physically because it becomes difficult to grasp objects, and mentally because the gaze of others can be difficult to bear and many people still don’t know that psoriasis is not contagious.

Finally, you should know that pustular psoriasis has a localized form (palmo-plantar psoriasis) and a generalized form, much more dangerous, called Von Zumbusch’s pustular psoriasis: if the pustules do not only affect the hands and feet, it is imperative to consult a doctor immediately.

How to treat psoriasis on the hands ?

As with other forms of the disease, the hand psoriasis Pustules cannot be cured permanently: remissions can occur, but they are rare. You can opt for a natural treatment of psoriasis or trust your doctor or dermatologist to prescribe the most appropriate medical treatment. There are several types of drug treatments:

• Corticoid-based ointments
• Occlusive dressings that allow better penetration into the skin, which is thick on the palm
• Hydro-colloid dressings (HC) which accelerate healing
• Retinoid-based treatments for severe cases
• Puvatherapy or biotherapy

All these treatments are prescribed by a medical professional: it is important to refer to your doctor or dermatologist, and especially to specify the discomfort created by your psoriasis (if you do manual work, for example). He will be able to find the most appropriate treatment for your hand psoriasis !

Should you use moisturizing cream? ?

Medical treatments are not without good gestures on your side. Remember to avoid certain foods with psoriasis, but above all to taking care of your hands. Moisturizing is not an option: moisturizing must become a reflex, as soon as your skin is dry and after each wash in a systematic way.

Don’t use just any cream with psoriasis: avoid creams that are too fragrant, especially those with synthetic fragrances. Focus on quality, by buying your moisturizing creams in a drugstore for example. As the epidermis of the palm is thick, you need a particularly moisturizing cream: urea-based creams are ideal.

Brands such as Uriage or Eucerin offer such products, but if you’re into DIY, you can also make your own cream by buying a packet of cosmetic urea from Aroma-Zone: savings guaranteed.

Other good habits are to be taken to limit the eruptions, the push of psoriasis: to put gloves to make the household or when you use detergent products which attack the hands, try not to scrape the lesions because that worsens the crisis, wash your hands with cold or warm water, Never burn your hands, and use pH-neutral, soap-free shower gels to wash them !