Prevention

[misales]

Is science doing anything in regards to prevention of this disease, especially for those with known familiial history? It is becoming evident to me that many of our treatment regimines just happen to treat other diseases quite well, in fact, often psoriasis is considered a secondary treatment to the original design of the drug or regimine.

Genetics is a big word thrown around these boards and what does it really mean. Seems to me that many of the health conditions that we all face have some sort of genetic basis. Diabetes, Heart Disease, and even Cancer..... Doctors do talk a lot about prevention for many of these conditions especially if you are at risk. Is there any proactive movement towards advice for those in potential peril of psoriasis. Lifestyle change, etc...? Or is psoriasis so far out in the unknown that they really just don't know what to suggest to attempt to prevent it?

[JKNY]

I 'm not sure I am answering your question but from what I gather, the skin is the least understood organ of our body. The skin envelopes and interacts with all the other organs and sytems in our bodies ( but not our souls!)

That's why we may experience a symptom or disdease that's visible on the skin but the disdeases itself may not be a"skin disease". It may be a liver disease , blood dissease etc. So until they completely undestand all the other body parts and cause of all diseases they may not get a complete handle on what is a skin disease or what just manifests as a skin disease.


So psoriasis may or not be a "skin disease" per se but a disease say of the immune system that people with bad skin genes somehow get triggered . Our genetically poor organ , the skin, is therefore going to be the last in line to be fully integrated into medical understanding. At least we have moved beyond coal tar.

Once they got psoriasis completely undestood and cured, maybe they can begin to understand the mind and brain and all thoses mental disorders. There is certainly a lot of money to be made in P treatment what with the millions that have P.

[rottie]

i think it's hard to prevent because we all have different triggers, and some of us don't know that those triggers are.

[psoriaspouse]

Good post! The "genetic factor" that is referred to is not limited to the idea that people have inherited the disorder from their family, but more dealing with the fact that scientists are mapping the human genome and they are finding the genes within our DNA that predispose us to certain conditions or diseases - such as P.

Personally, I don't think that prevention is dealt with enough because it is dermatologists that deal with treatment of P. P only manifests itself in the skin, but the roots of the problem go deep into the immune system and the overall health and wellness of the patient. DH's previous derm didn't believe that stress had anything to do with triggering or prolonging and outbreak. Further, it is an autoimmune disease and derms do not specialize in immunology. I think they really should become more well-versed in it if they are treating people with P; my observations is that a teen with acne or a woman who wants a facial peel to treat wrinkles are in a totally different league than P. It is a very unique disorder that requires more than the superficial approach than it usually recieves.

I truly believe that the only power people have over prevention is to address our overall health, lifestyle, and then further, deal with triggers, and stress is A # 1 on the list!!! Our bodies are directly connected to our mind and spirits. We need to calm ourselves and heal ourselves from the inside out in order for our body to function as it wants to. Our bodies WANT to be well. They WANT to function normally. If people keep sabotaging their bodies' attempt to become well by not figuring out what the triggers are, or ignoring the triggers that cause P, it becomes an uphill battle, swimming upstream.

I don't know, I am babbling here to an extent. I am also preaching from a holistic, nursing perspective that some people don't put faith it. I had a long day...but there are things I know for sure, and one of them is that we all have inside of us the ability to help heal ourselves. You must believe in more than a drug or an ointment. You must be on board from the beginning. Prevention, believing in yourself and the treatment you are recieving, and following through afterwards can truly be the road to recovery and lasting health...stepping off soap box now...

[grannyfranny]

psoriaspouse,
I don't think you are babbling. I think you are right. I believe the derms should quit trying to fix the immune system before knowing exactly what is wrong with it. This is one disease that is so different,,,one med does not fit all.

[beachgirl]

Personally, I don't think that prevention is dealt with enough because it is dermatologists that deal with treatment of P. P only manifests itself in the skin, but the roots of the problem go deep into the immune system and the overall health and wellness of the patient. DH's previous derm didn't believe that stress had anything to do with triggering or prolonging and outbreak. Further, it is an autoimmune disease and derms do not specialize in immunology. I think they really should become more well-versed in it if they are treating people with P; my observations is that a teen with acne or a woman who wants a facial peel to treat wrinkles are in a totally different league than P. It is a very unique disorder that requires more than the superficial approach than it usually recieves.


If people keep sabotaging their bodies' attempt to become well by not figuring out what the triggers are, or ignoring the triggers that cause P, it becomes an uphill battle, swimming upstream.



You make great points. We all would like to just go on eating and doing whatever we want and then expect to just pop a pill or get shots of medincine when we run into problems. Well we won't get far. It will eventually catch up with us.

I was excited to see that strides were being made in linking p to the immune system, but find it discouraging that coming up with new dangerous drugs to manipulate the all important immune system is as far as it's being taken. There is so much that needs to be looked into such as diet, allergies, acid/alkaline balance, infections, stress, and their effects on the immune system. Hopefully there is research being done regarding those. There are common denominators in information that modern and holistic approach have found to be true over the years and it may be as simple as connecting the dots. Thankfully there is a new generation of doctors, scientists and nurses such as yourself that will hopefully lead the way.

[chaimFL]

Good post! The "genetic factor" that is referred to is not limited to the idea that people have inherited the disorder from their family, but more dealing with the fact that scientists are mapping the human genome and they are finding the genes within our DNA that predispose us to certain conditions or diseases - such as P.

Personally, I don't think that prevention is dealt with enough because it is dermatologists that deal with treatment of P. P only manifests itself in the skin, but the roots of the problem go deep into the immune system and the overall health and wellness of the patient....

It is true that psoriasis is not caused by something inherent in our skin, but then again most skin conditions fall under that same scenario. Acne for example has many factors one of which can be genetic and others include hormones, over production of sebum, bacteria, and inflammation. Acne also just manifests inself through the skin, but it's not a skin problem per se. Dermatologists also treat melanoma, which is cancer that shows up on the skin. The same goes for rashes. A rash is usually an allergic reaction, which is also an autoimmune response to something the body recognizes as foreign.

[wildflowerAnn]

Psoriaspouse, great post. The physician that I saw just before they were deciding whether to admit me to the hospital during my severe flare said that I had all of the "western" medicine that I needed. She advised me to learn to go into a state of meditation, as do Buddhist Monks, to calm myself during times of stress. She said that just as my brain produces a stress response, it can also produce a calming response sending good chemicals out. She said she had seen the photographs of the brains of these Monks and that one can see the physiological changes when they are meditating. I have noticed in the last few weeks, that if I worry or get upset, I get spots. So I remind myself immediately to stop it. Worrying doesn't help anything, and getting upset hurts my skin.
I feel fortunate that my dermatologist immediately suspected autoimmune disease, but it took three separate biopsy snips to finally get the right diagnosis; and of course the major pustular psoriasis outbreak made it obvious.
I agree that it is a whole body wellness approach that will help to control the outbreaks.

[RichJ]

hi ann,
sorry i can't help much but welcome to the p family. you have met some of the wonderful people on here and will find alot of great info. welcome and nice to meet you.

have a good day all

richard

[psoriaspouse]

wildflowerAnn, what an amazing leap that doctor took to suggest such an "out of scope" therapy for you! I can only hope I am fortunate enough to work with a doctor like that when I am done with school. I am glad that you are learning to recognize when you are feeling stressed. Do you feel like your interventions are effective? Even practicing deep breathing techniques can be enough to elicit a calming effect when your body is going off the deep end in a stress response.

DH and I are taking a meditation class right now, and the deep breathing is the one thing we practice regularly in between our once a week classes. I figure it is a step in the right direction. What can make meditation more accessable and less confusing in independent practice are guided meditation CD's. We have tried a couple of Deepak Chopra's in class - he is a physician who also integrates meditation and positive intention into his philosophy. I am going to order some CD's for DH that are specifically for P, and some of Deepak's for both of us. I hope it helps us practice more regularly.

Another method of using your own mind and the power of your spirit to heal is through hypnosis. There was a post not too long ago on it. Very interesting stuff.

For most people in our culture, it makes sense to combine both western and non-western approaches when dealing with our health and wellness. I truly hope more people take advantage of and put faith in their own ability to heal, rather than thinking it is entirely up to a drug or a doctor to figure it out.

What it comes down to is putting your faith into whatever method you choose to heal yourself. It has been proven through the placebo effect (but is now unethical) that people get well when given a sugar pill and told that this was the silver bullet. They put faith into the miracle that was promised and improved. The minute they were told it was not a real drug, they reverted back to their previous state of illness. If people could harness that same effect but without the sugar pill...imagine the possibilities!! I dream of the day when these practices are standard in western medicine!!!