Psoriasis Guru

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Seborrheic Dermatitis

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How is Psoriasis Diagnosed?

Tuesday, October 6th, 2009

Most of the time a dermatologist can determine whether a person has psoriasis by asking questions and making basic observations.  A skin biopsy can be requested if there is any doubt.

Psoriasis might be confused with seborrheic dermatitis and other forms of dermatitis or eczema (general name for skin irritations), which are similar both in appearance and cause.

Psoriasis indicators:

  • Well defined skin lesions.
  • Affected areas showing primarily on the elbows, scalp, knees and torso.
  • A family history of psoriasis.
  • Pitted finger and toenails.
  • Swelled, arthritic joints (this would be psoriatic arthritis).
  • Silver colored, small scales.
  • Dryness.
  • Itchiness.
  • Swollen, irritated skin.

What Is Champori and Is It an Effective Psoriasis Treatment?

Friday, October 2nd, 2009

Champori is an herbal skin remedy that (according to champori.com) is supposed to have been developed by Tibetan monks centuries ago.  According to different sources (a smattering of people in different psoriasis forums), champori brings about dramatic improvements for eczema (inflammatory, itchy skin conditions in general), including seborrheic dermatitis and psoriasis.

Something that seems a bit suspicious to me is that a few people say that they used it and then “BAM” it worked and then everyone else (the majority) has never heard of it.  In any case, most people who have anything to say about it report positive results.

Champori has not been evaluated or approved by the FDA as of yet.  It’s a “home grown remedy” that you would most likely have to experiment with to get an accurate idea of how well it works.  You will most likely have to purchase it online.

If it is made from herbal / natural substances, then I would guess that it is not excessively dangerous… but you might want to consult your doctor to see if he/she has heard of it or would approve of you experimenting with it.

Ingredients include: Indigo naturalis (widely used as a natural flaky skin treatment), isatis tinctoria, psoralea fruit, coptis chinensis, phellodendron amurense, sophora flavescens (another commonly used herbal skin treatment) and centella asiatica (has been proven to promote healing).

Scalp Psoriasis Vs. Seborrheic Dermatitis

Thursday, September 24th, 2009

These two conditions — scalp psoriasis and seborrheic dermatitis — share a lot of the same characteristics and are thus difficult to differentiate. They both can cause unquenchable itchiness as well as flakiness of the skin.  They both can irritate the skin as well, causing it to become red and sore.   They also both can be treated using similar methods, including sunlight, coal tar, salicylic acid and hydrocortisone (for treating itchiness).

The surest way to tell the difference between these two diseases is to get a biopsy done via a medial lab.

One of the moist easily observed differences in the two disease is the degree of oiliness present on the scalp.  Seborrheic dermatitis is characterized by excessive oil production by the skin why psoriasis tends to result in extremely dry skin.  Appropriately, seborrhea by itself is a condition whereby the skin produces to much oiliness.   Thus, while moisturizers can help ease the itch of psoriasis, they can actually make seborrheic dermatitis worse.