How Severe Is My Psoriasis?

Like many skin conditions, psoriasis has a number of different levels of severity, from mild to moderate to severe. At least that’s the way it has been classified in the past. These days, more specific classifications have been created so that people who suffer from the ailment can know exactly what degree of psoriasis they have.

This knowledge will allow them to better deal with severe psoriasis treatment as they chart how it gets better and worsens based on things they do to try and treat it.

Below are some insights into the new classifications so that those who are charting their battle against the condition can be as accurate as possible when tracing their progress in their psoriasis treatment diary on a daily or weekly basis.

New Considerations for Psoriasis Severity

As the classification system of psoriasis directly affects a patient’s treatment options, new things are being taken into account, like the location and specific type of the psoriasis involved. For example, inverse psoriasis is different from other forms of psoriasis and is usually considered mild, because it typically only affects small areas of the body with deep folds of skin that don’t get a lot of sunlight and holds on to a lot of moisture.

However, doctors are now considering the impact of the psoriasis on a person’s everyday life before classifying it. For example, if a person has psoriasis in an area that hurts them when they walk and they have to walk around for their job, this could be classified as severe, even if it is only in a very small area of the body. In other words, there are more factors involved than just the overall amount of psoriasis you physically have on your skin.

Mild

The definition for mild psoriasis, in most cases, is a slight redness, thickness or scaling that covers a large area of the body or severe thickness, redness or scaling in a small area of the body. Beyond looking odd to those who have it, there won’t be a tremendous amount of itching or physical discomfort.

Moderate to Severe

Psoriasis symptoms that are worse than the aforementioned mild symptoms will have most if not all of the following things happen to them: severe redness and thickness and scaling over most of the body.

Many of these areas will also be visible when you have clothing on and there are many parts of the scalp that will be effected. Genitals are usually also affected, as are the hands and feet which makes it painful to walk or hold things. On top of that, fingernails will be bent and deformed in many cases and there will be a lot of itching that leads to scratching which, in turn, could lead to infection.

This severity of psoriasis will also cause those afflicted with it to miss certain social situations in their personal lives, due to flare-ups. Light therapy and systemic treatments are often employed to beat back or sometimes even cure this form of psoriasis.

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+Dr.Lee  Eberting is a board certified dermatologist that has dedicated her practice and research to develop skin care treatment options for conditions such as: eczema, psoriasis and rosacea. Read more at cherylleemd.com