World Psoriasis Day

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By Nurse Diane

There is a commercial on TV where a man is serving food from a mobile trailer.  As he is handing out the order, the sleeve on his shirt raises up and you can notice red patches on his skin.  He is embarrassed, and then it cuts away to a medication to cure the condition.  Psoriasis is a common skin condition that causes skin redness and irritation. Most people with psoriasis have thick, red skin with flaky, silver-white patches called scales.  It can occur with anyone, but it is usually more common if other family members have it.  People get it from the ages of 15 to 35 years of age, and it is not contagious.

Treatment is to control the symptoms, and this is usually done with topical creams, and in more severe cases, pills or injections.  Psoriasis is a life-long condition that can be controlled with treatment. It may go away for a long time and then return. With appropriate treatment, it usually does not affect your general physical health.

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Today is World Psoriasis Day.  According to http://www.worldpsoriasisday.com/ it is an annual day specially dedicated to people with psoriasis/psoriatic arthritis. Conceived by patients for patients, World Psoriasis Day is a truly global event that sets out to give an international voice to the 125 million people with psoriasis/psoriatic arthritis. The goals for the day include:

• Raising awareness: to let people with psoriasis know that they are not alone and to raise the profile of this devastating skin disease and the misery it can cause. To dispel myths about the condition, such as the mistaken view that psoriasis is contagious.
• Improving access to treatment: to encourage healthcare systems, governments, physicians, careers and all those responsible for psoriasis care to allow psoriasis sufferers access to optimum therapy. For too long, psoriasis/psoriatic arthritis has been low priority. They are debilitating diseases and must move up the healthcare agenda.
• Increasing understanding: to provide information to those who are affected by the condition as well as the general public in order to educate people about the condition so that they can discuss it more openly and confidently.

Building unity among the psoriasis community: to provide a platform from which patient voices from around the world can speak as one and be heard by key decision makers.

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For more information visit the site: http://www.worldpsoriasisday.com/