toxic psoriasis medicine?
Huh, no one has mentioned sunlight. Sunlight exposure – exposure to UV rays from the sun, if you want to be specific – is an excellent cure for psoriasis for many people. UV light treatment is just sunlight-in-a-can. It’s neither more nor less toxic than going out in the sun. (Well, actually, UV light treatment is probably less toxic than sun exposure, because the wavelengths are limited and the exposure is controlled.) Probably your ski trip remission was at least partially due to lots of sun exposure. You should also consider hydrocortisone ointment. I have no idea if you count that as “toxic” or not (it isn’t, but neither are moderate amounts of Tylenol or UV treatment). Essentially, the NSAID drugs you were recommended before are for ARTHRITIS, while treating the SKIN PLAQUES should be done with sunlight and steroid creams such as hydrocortisone (which is over-the-counter).
I don’t quite understand your including UV light therapy in the “toxic” category. My husband had such plaque psorias as you describe, but in greater amounts and severity, for years and using topical ointments seemed to have little or no effect. Since discovering light therapy, though, the difference is (pardon the pun) night and day. And as parmanparman commented, many insurance companies cover the cost not only of doctor’s office visits for therapy but even for the cost of an in-home light unit. I hope that you may reconsider the UV treatment; I heartily recommend its efficacy (in at least one specific case).
Nizoral (Ketoconazole) is an over-the-counter shampoo (also available in prescription strength) that works pretty well. It helps reduce the fungus that is believed to be the main irritant of the scalp for scalp psoriasis. If you go to a dermatologist, they may prescribe Clobetasol. This stuff works great – I went from using n different over-the-counter meds with limited success to being a happy camper. I’ve had no weird side effects (when used as directed, YMMV).
Here’s a genuine Snake-Oil I’ve had good results with: Tedco’s controversial Miracle II Neutralizer. My ears have plagued me for years with flaking and itching within the outer canals, and the best solution I’ve found so far is to suds them up with Neutragena T/Gel Extra Strength Shampoo (1% coal tar) while washing my hair with it, then re-rinse them with a few drops of this Neutralizer stuff squirted onto a couple of Q-Tips after drying off. Neither preparation helped my ears much at all by itself, nor has any other shampoo, oil or other nostrum I’ve explored over the years. I repeat the application every 2-3 days. Haven’t yet been brave enough to ingest the stuff, but my ears haven’t fallen off yet…
I’d suggest cutting out all eggs and dairy for a few weeks and see what happens. The proteins in these foods are known to act as allergens in a number of cases and could be exacerbating the psoriasis. I know it’s difficult to make that big of a dietary change but you really only have to try it for a few weeks.
