I’ll be honest: My outward appearance is a big motivator for me in my quest to battle psoriasis.  For example, I’d rather not go bald too soon (though it may be inevitable anyway) and itching my scalp constantly will speed along that process significantly.  I have already noticed my hair thinning at an accelerated pace since I started itching my scalp on a regular basis.  The other side effects of psoriasis can be troublesome as well, including scaling, flaking, red irritated looking skin and even open sores.

But I think that wanting to function in society without having to worry about this stuff is legitimate.  Heck, if it takes moving to a sunny, yet more moist environment, then it would be worth the move as far as I’m concerned.

On a related note, while it’s good to want to find a cure, it’s even better to have this desire coupled with some good old fashioned common sense.  For example, back before I knew I had psoriasis (in college) I was unreasonably concerned about going bald, and thus, at the first signs of hair loss I went and bought some Rogaine.   When I applied some of this hair-restoring solution to my scalp, the skin on my scalp had quite a negative reaction.  It caused a sudden outbreak of dryness, scaling and an deep irritation in my skin.   I shrugged it off as a dumb thing to do in the first place, but now I realize that my scalp probably reacted this way because I had psoriasis and Rogaine was the last thing in the world my scalp needed to be dealing with.

So sometimes it’s good to experiment, but if you’re thinking about applying any strange chemicals to your scalp, you probably should consult a dermatologist first.  Oh, and you might want to scratch Rogaine off your list of potential scalp treatments right now (that stuff is overpriced anyway).