Psoriasis: why it’s not a problem with your skin
I get it. You wake up one day with patches of flaky, red, irritated skin and suddenly you’re Googling ‘psoriasis’ like there’s no tomorrow.
Psoriasis is a frustrating and confidence-crushing condition. It shows up at the most inconvenient times, making you feel like your skin is a neon sign screaming for attention.
The skin is our largest organ. But it might surprise you to learn that skin conditions like psoriasis, eczema, acne and rosacea aren’t generally caused by a problem with your skin.
These conditions go much deeper than that.
In this guide, I will explore what psoriasis is, the symptoms, causes, the treatments available and how I, as a nutritional therapist, can help you get this condition under control.
What is psoriasis?
Psoriasis is an autoimmune skin condition that speeds up the lifecycle of skin cells. It causes cells to build up rapidly on the surface of the skin. These extra skin cells form scaly, red patches that are often itchy – and sometimes painful.
As it’s an autoimmune condition, it’s not just a skin condition; it’s an immune system issue too. Your body is essentially turning against itself, leading to inflammation and an overproduction of skin cells.
What are the symptoms?
Psoriasis shows up in different ways for different people, but here are some of the most common symptoms:
Red patches of skin covered with thick, silvery scales
Dry, cracked skin that may bleed
Itching, burning or soreness
Thickened or ridged nails
Swollen and stiff joints
Common spots for the flaky, red patches include your elbows, knees, scalp – and even your face. But psoriasis isn’t picky; it can appear just about anywhere.
The symptoms can range from mild to severe. You might have small patches of dry skin, or you may be dealing with full-on plaques that crack and bleed. Then there’s the itching and the burning. Either way, it’s not fun.
What can trigger psoriasis?
The exact cause of psoriasis isn’t fully understood but it’s believed to be related to an immune system problem with T-cells and other white blood cells called neutrophils. Normally, T-cells travel through the body to defend against foreign invaders, like viruses or bacteria. But, in psoriasis, the T-cells attack healthy skin cells by mistake, as if they are healing a wound or fighting an infection.
Other factors that can trigger psoriasis include:
Genetics: if your family has a history of psoriasis, your chances of getting it go up unfortunately.
Stress: stress can send your immune system into overdrive, making psoriasis flare-ups more likely.
Metabolic syndrome: conditions like high blood pressure, high cholesterol and obesity are linked to psoriasis. Think of it as your body’s way of waving a big red flag saying, “Something’s not right here!”.
Food intolerances: when you’re intolerant to a certain food, it can create inflammation and disrupt gut health, which can trigger or worsen flare-ups.
Toxic load: we live in a world full of toxins – in our food, the air, our homes. Over time, that toxic load can build up and mess with your body’s systems, including your skin.
Hormone imbalances: ever noticed that your skin acts up at certain times in your cycle? Hormones play a huge role in skin health, and an imbalance can trigger psoriasis.
Air pollution: we all know pollution isn’t great for your lungs, but it’s not doing your skin any favours either. Pollutants can inflame your skin and make conditions like psoriasis worse.
Certain medications: some medications can mess with your immune system or throw your body off balance, leading to psoriasis flare-ups.
Viruses, yeast and infections: your immune system has a lot on its plate. Infections, whether they’re viral, bacterial or fungal, can trigger autoimmune responses like psoriasis.
Smoking: if you need another reason to quit, psoriasis is a good one. Smoking increases your risk of developing psoriasis and makes it harder to manage.
What treatment is available?
There is currently no cure for psoriasis, but various treatments are used to help relieve the symptoms:
Topical treatments: these include creams and ointments that you apply directly to your skin. Corticosteroids are commonly used to reduce inflammation.
Phototherapy: this involves exposing your skin to ultraviolet light on a regular basis. UVB light therapy is a common method.
Oral or injected medications: these might include biologics, which target specific parts of your immune system, or systemic treatments that affect your whole body.
Moisturisers: this isn’t a treatment per se but keeping the skin moist can help reduce itching and scaling.
Unfortunately, very few GPs are trained to understand that skin conditions, like psoriasis, aren’t generally caused by a problem with your skin – and prescribing these treatments, while they might help in the short-term, they’re not addressing the root cause. It’s a bit like mopping the floor every day to remove puddles of water, when you should be fixing the leaky tap.
How can nutritional therapy help?
Unlike conventional medicine which often treats just the symptoms, nutritional therapy uses the functional medicine model which aims to address and support the root cause.
Here’s how I would approach someone looking for support for psoriasis:
I’d look at you as an individual: your health history, your family’s health history, your diet, lifestyle and environment.
Show you ways to (ideally) reduce your stress and manage any stress that comes your way.
Support your immune system and gut health by increasing the diversity of your microbiome.
Maximise your body’s ability to digest the food you eat so you have a better chance of absorbing the beneficial nutrients from it.
Eliminate any foods that may be triggering flare-ups or increasing inflammation in the body.
Adding in foods that have been shown to support skin health and your immune system, while also reducing inflammation.
Optimise how your liver works so it can clear toxins more efficiently.
What tests can you run?
The root cause of every person’s psoriasis will be different but as there is a strong connection between your gut and your skin, one of the first things I recommend to a client looking for answers to their psoriasis is to run a comprehensive stool test.
A stool test can reveal if you’ve got digestion and absorption issues, gut bacterial imbalances, yeast overgrowth, parasites or a leaky gut. These are all things that can trigger inflammation in the body and make psoriasis worse.
Once we figure out what’s going on in the gut, we can start supporting the root cause more quickly. And guess what? Once the gut is happy, the skin usually follows suit.
Check out Harriet’s story here and see how a stool test got to the root cause of her condition.
Don’t struggle alone
If you or someone you know is struggling with psoriasis, please book a free chat with me and let’s get to the root cause of it together.