What your joints need

There are 3 main phenomena’s or symptoms of psoriasis, which can be detected with a scraping of the psoriatic plaques:

- the “stearin spot” phenomena – with the scraping of the surface of the psoriatic plaque there will appear silvery-white scales, that resemble stearin – a  tasteless and odorless substance used for the manufacturing of the soaps etc.

- the “terminal film” phenomena (aka the “psoriatic film” phenomena) – with the further scraping of the psoriatic plaque underneath the abundant silvery-white scales there appears a translucent tender skin, that resembles a film

- the “point hemorrhage” phenomena (aka the “blood dew” phenomena) – with the further scraping of the plaque there will appear a point hemorrhage – tiny dots of blood

In the progressive stage of psoriasis there is also is noted the Koebner phenomena, that was first explained by professor Koebner in 1872 – with any type of injury to the skin, be it a scratch, a cut, an irritation etc. – on the place of the injury there appears a new psoriatic plaque.

The progressive stage of psoriasis is commonly noted with the first appearance of psoriasis on the body of a person. Therefore it is extremely necessary to watch out for any injuries to the skin at the moment of the first appearance of psoriasis. Any injury, be it the scratches obtained from a pet, piercing your ears, getting a tattoo etc. – may trigger the appearance of psoriatic plaques precisely on the injured spots.

Psoriasis first appears as small red papules, covered with silvery-white scales. The papules grow and merge with one another, forming psoriatic plaques. The plaques are usually have a very pronounced boundary and can be easily distinguished from the skin that was not affected with psoriasis.

Psoriasis in the progressive stage is usually accompanied by itching, which subsides when the process transforms into the stationary stage. In the stage of regression psoriatic plaques flatten and disappear, leaving after themselves only the bright spots, which also disappear with the course of time.

Psoriasis usually “prefers” the following skin locations: the extensor surfaces of the elbows and knees and the scalp, then it may also appear on the chest, the back and the rest of the body.

Psoriasis often also manifests itself on the nails. The nails in this case become fragile, they lose their gloss and color, and they lift up above the nail bed. Psoriasis on the nails often also appears after some kind of damage of the nails – artificial nail placement etc.

Sometimes psoriasis may also affect the joints – this type of psoriasis is called psoriatic arthritis or psoriatic arthropathy. In this case there may appear pains in the joints, as well as the deformities of the joints if the process progresses further without obtaining the effective treatment.

Some lucky people never develop psoriasis anywhere other than their elbows and knees – where they have the so called “on-duty plaques”. Those lucky individuals may never experience the gore of scalp psoriasis, nail psoriasis or psoriatic arthritis.