Psoriasis: An emerging health disaster and its precautionary measures
Psoriasis is a chronic, non-contagious autoimmune skin condition that causes skin cells to multiply too quickly. This rapid turnover leads to a buildup of cells on the skin surface, forming red, scaly, itchy, and sometimes painful patches.
Recent epidemiologic studies have shown that psoriasis is associated with an increased risk of heart attack and stroke, a relationship that may be related to a chronic inflammatory state. Psoriasis is also associated with up to 10% of patients with arthritis, which in some cases may be severe. Psoriasis has more lifestyle risk factors such as smoking, alcohol consumption, stress and obesity.
Psoriasis is a multifactorial immunologic disease; both genetic and psychological factors contribute to risk. Lifestyle also plays a pivotal role in the occurrence, aggravation, as well as in prevention. It most frequently affects the skin of the elbows, knees, scalp, lumbosacral areas, intergluteal cleft, and glans penis. Nail changes on the fingers and toes occur in 30% of cases. In most cases, psoriasis is limited in distribution, but it can be widespread and severe sometimes Psoriatic arthritis affects the axial and peripheral joints. Typically, the distal interphalangeal joints are involved, and the adjacent nails are affected. The gastrointestinal system is considered to be an important consideration in managing key aspects in the clinical management of psoriasis. Modulating immune response is inevitably involved in the management of inflammatory conditions such as psoriasis.
Key lifestyle management, diet and yoga in a psoriatic individual:
Dietary advice for the psoriatic individual.
Food to eat: –
Vegetables: Bitter guard, fenugreek, drumstick, pumpkin, bottle guard, spinach, coriander, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, and other green leafy vegetables.
Fruits: Pomegranate, apple, guava, amla, berries, avocado, kiwi, etc
Grains: beans, kidney beans, green gram , well-cooked chick peas
Spices: turmeric, heeng
Liquid : Barley water, seasonal fruit juice, alovera juice, triphla decoction
Food to avoid: –
Greasy and spicy food items
Avoid potatoes, brinjals, and excessively sour vegetables.
Avoid citrus fruits like oranges and grapes.
Avoid tomatoes, black pepper, chili, and black gram.
avoid all kinds of animal products: egg, meat, fish, milk, and milk products, etc
Yoga protocol for the psoriatic individual.
Step 1: Perform breathing exercises for 5 minutes.
Step 2: Perform loosening exercises (Suksham Vyayam) for 10-15 minutes.
Step 3: Asana (10 min), try to avoid sweating by doing it slowly and only 2-4 asanas in one session
Standing : Tadasana, trikonasana, ardhchakrasana
Sitting : Butterfly, paschimottan asana, ushtrasana
Lying: Pavanmuktasana, setubandh asana, bhujang asana
Step 4 : Pranayama (do more of pranayama and relaxation)
Yogic breathing of all types, Sheetli, Sheetkari, Chandra Bhedi, Nadi Sudhhi, and Bhramri.
Step 5: Relaxation (must do daily)
SMET (self-management of excessive tension technique)
DRT (Deep relaxation technique)
Yog Nidra
Mindful meditation
Home remedies for the psoriatic individual:
Ganji lape: paste of turmeric + Rice powder + Vit k capsule
Paste of Neem + Chandan
Paste of Alovera gel + Turmeric + Neem + Chandan + Vit k capsule
Apply over the affected skin part.