DHA Twitter Clinic: How to avoid Psoriasis

Red patches covered by white scales all over the affected area on your body indicate the symptoms of the skin disease psoriasis.

With little knowledge about the illness but at least a thousand new patients in the UAE every year, attention was drawn to the disease in the weekly Twitter Clinic of the Dubai Health Authority, ahead of World Psoriasis Day (October 29).

In  2014, the DHA dermatology centre received 14,634 patients, of which 1216 had the disease. In 2013 there were 1117 patients diagnosed with the illness.

The psychological impact of psoriasis is more than cardiovascular disease, cancer or diabetes, said Anwar Al Hammadi, Director of Dermatology at the DHA.

“The appearance of the disease and unawareness among society members about the disease causes most patients psychological stress. At our centre, we have seen patients which psoriasis on the nails, hands or scalp, many of them informed us that they needed to change their customer facing jobs due to the appearance of the disease.

This of course, presents a toll of them emotionally, financially and psychologically and thus awareness about the disease among the community will help in better acceptance and understanding of the disease.

Common misconceptions about the disease are that it might be contagious and restricts people from doing certain activities.

However, the disease rarely causes any secondary infections and therefore patients can lead their life normally and continue doing all their regular activities, including swimming, Al Hammadi pointed out.

“Psoriasis  generally develops on the scalp, knees, or elbows, although it may affect any area of the skin.

“The production of skin cells at affected sites is accelerated, and the accumulation of excess cells causes scaly plaques,” explained Fatima Khalifa Al Hadari, Senior Dermatologist at the DHA.

If both parents are affected with psoriasis, the risk of their children developing the disease is 41 per cent, and if one parent has it this risk is reduced to 14 per cent. If one of the siblings is affected with psoriasis, the risk of other siblings developing it is 6 %.

“Patients also need to understand that although there is no cure for the disease, it can be managed effectively through treatment and a healthy lifestyle,” said Al Hammadi.

Treatment options include tropical crèmes, oral pills, phototherapy (light therapy) and for severe cases biological injections. Recently, biological pills instead of injections have been introduced as a treatment option.

Up to 30 per cent of patients with psoriasis, may develop psoriatic arthritis, especially if their nails are affected. Latest research shows that psoriasis is a systematic disease which means that patients with the disease are at a higher risk of developing high blood pressure, diabetes etc, explained Al Hadari.

Early referral to specialised consultants as well as regular screening is therefore significant. Improving lifestyle is also important, which means cutting down on alcohol, smoking cessation, healthy eating and exercise, she pointed out.

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