One form of non-communicable chronic disease can be psoriasis of the hands. This causes a lot of inconvenience to a person. Due to the numerous plaques, it becomes more difficult for him to do housework. The patient develops self-doubt, against the background of which isolation and social rejection develop. With this diagnosis, psoriatic eruptions affect the fingers, palms, nails and other areas of the hands. It is very difficult to deal with the disease alone. If a person intends to recover, he should seek help from a qualified specialist.
Causes
Doctors identify various causes for the formation of psoriatic rashes on the hands. In each case, individual treatment is required. To determine the correct therapy, the doctor must determine the factor that led to the activation of the autoimmune disease. The reason for the development of psoriasis of the hands can lie in the following conditions:
- Impaired immune system;
- Psycho-emotional overstrain;
- Hereditary predisposition;
- Metabolic disorders;
- Poor nutrition
- Bad habits;
- Chronic skin diseases;
- Climate change;
- Intoxication of the body.
Psoriatic rashes on the hands are often caused by prolonged use of medications. If left untreated, the plaque can spread to joints, shoulders and other parts of the body.
Symptoms
To find out what form psoriasis of the hands manifests itself, you need to look at the photos showing patients with this disease. Photos in medical directories and on thematic sites can be used to compare with rashes on the body that are not natural. Also, the disease can be recognized by its characteristic features.
The symptoms of psoriasis on the hands are as follows:
- Redness of the skin of the upper extremities;
- Severe dryness;
- Swelling and thickening of the skin layers;
- Cracking of the formed pustules;
- Soreness in the affected area;
- Merger of single rashes.
People who have a predisposition to the disease should definitely know what psoriasis looks like. Then they will be able to identify it in time and start treatment without waiting for the pathological rash to grow.
Stages of the disease
It is much easier to cure psoriasis in the first stage of spread. To understand how to overcome psoriasis on the hands, you must first understand what stage of development it is.
There are a total of 3 main stages in the development of psoriasis, which is localized in the hands:
- Progressive. Small rashes begin to appear on healthy skin. They have light scales in the center. Gradually the rash increases, resulting in the formation of plaques;
- Stationary. The rash stops appearing. Their growth also stops. The surface affected by psoriasis begins to peel off;
- Regressive. The plaques become flat, stop coming off strongly and gradually dissolve. There will be no marks on the skin where they were.
The condition of the skin and the presence of certain symptoms in the patient helps to calculate the affiliation of psoriasis to one of the stages.
How to treat psoriasis of the hands
Hand psoriasis needs complex therapy. The most important is the medication and the local treatment of the plaque. In addition, doctors recommend a course of physiotherapy procedures that have a positive effect on the condition of the skin.
Glucocorticosteroids
In the initial stage of psoriatic disease, which leads to the formation of plaques on the hands, it is necessary to use such means:
- Salicylic ointment;
- Topical glucocorticosteroids;
- Fluorinated glucocorticosteroids;
Medicines that belong to this group should be handled very carefully. They are quite dangerous to health as they can cause serious complications and side effects. Sometimes, after stopping the medicine, the disease gets worse.
As a result of long-term treatment with these funds, signs of malaise may appear, which are expressed in the form of excessive hair growth and atrophy. Therefore, their use is allowed only after a doctor's prescription.
Calcipotriol
Hand psoriasis can be treated with drugs that contain calcipotriol. The initial stage of the disease responds much better to such therapy. Although it is better to apply in the last stages of development. Unlike previous drugs, calcipotriol products do not cause skin atrophy. They also have no cancellation effect.
Calcipotriol preparations should be used once daily. The daily norm of the substance should not exceed 15 years. The first results of treatment under this scheme become noticeable in about 2 weeks. The course of treatment with these drugs should not last more than 2 months.
Preparations based on tar and naphthalene
Psoriasis, which affects the hands, fingers and palms, responds well to treatment with tar and naphthalene preparations. They are relatively safe for health and have a relatively low cost. Therefore, such treatment will be available to many patients.
A number of rules need to be followed during tar and naphthalene treatment. Doctors do not recommend their use in the fight against a disease that has spread to large areas of skin. If you ignore this advice, you can intensify the development of the pathological process. In addition, tar drugs can lead to complications from chronic diseases.
Hand psoriasis can be treated with injections of antihistamines. Also, the introduction of sodium thiosulfate in an amount of up to 10 ml per day will not hurt. A 10% solution of calcium chloride is often prescribed in such a volume. In addition, your doctor may prescribe sedatives.
Gels are commonly used to treat psoriatic eruptions on the hands. A positive result is achieved after applying the creams. Ointment therapy is no less effective. All of these medications may contain hormones or consist of natural ingredients. Hormonal ointment for psoriasis of the hands is used more often for advanced disease. In the initial stages, you can deal with safer topical medications.
If necessary, doctors recommend that patients resort to more aggressive means that do not give the disease any chance. These are aromatic retinoids. One of the best among them is an aqueous gel with a concentration of 0, 05% or 0, 1%.
The following are prescribed as auxiliary medicines:
- TNF inhibitors;
- Keratolytic agents;
- Immunomodulators.
If the treatment works, then the disease goes into remission. The patient ceases to worry about his symptoms until the next exacerbation. Preventive drugs that maintain normal health help to avoid new foci of the pathological process.
Traditional treatment
To treat or prevent psoriasis on the hands, you can use products prepared according to the recipes of traditional medicine. With their help it is impossible to deal with the disease. But they significantly enhance the effect of medications and physiotherapy procedures, which is also an important advantage.
It is worth trying to overcome the psoriatic disease with the help of the following folk remedies:
- Homemade ointment. It is prepared from celery powder (1/2 teaspoon), baby cream (5 g) and chicken egg white. The resulting mixture should be applied to the skin of the hands about 3 times a day until the painful rash disappears;
- Baths with sea salt. This drug is recommended for patients who develop late-stage psoriasis;
- Natural oils. To moisturize dry skin, you need to use this particular product. Flaxseed, apricot, olive and buckthorn oils are perfect;
- Solid oil. This substance in its pure form should be applied to the affected areas of the hands every night before bedtime.
It is best to combine several home remedies with each other to speed up your recovery.
Herbal treatment
The positive side is that phytotherapy is manifested. In psoriasis it is indispensable. To help herbs get rid of psoriatic plaques on your hands, you need to know exactly what form and amount to apply them.
To eliminate the signs of psoriasis on the hands, you can use the following herbs:
- Celandine. You will need its juice to treat painful rashes. They should generously smear the plaques, while being careful not to get on healthy skin so as not to cause burns. The duration of such treatment should not exceed 3 months;
- Sunflower. Medical compresses are made with its help. You will need young baskets of the plant that need to be ground. Water is then added to the resulting mass. The finished compress is applied to the entire affected area. Sunflower will prevent the spread of the disease and relieve inflammation;
- A mixture of chamomile, celandine, mint, lavender and linden. From them a healing broth is prepared, which is then added to the hand bath.
It is worth trying to prepare various decoctions and infusions of these plants, which can help eliminate painful symptoms. Most importantly, the person is not allergic to the herbs he uses.
Homeopathy and psoriasis
Many patients practice psoriasis, which has spread to the hands with homeopathic remedies. They are elected depending on the constitutional structure of a person. This therapy helps to reconfigure the body and restore the disturbed balance in it.
It is common to combine homeopathic medicines with organotropic medicines. They have a special effect on the activity of internal organs and systems.
With questions about choosing the right medicine, you should contact an experienced homeopath.
Prevention
Hand psoriasis may periodically subside and worsen. It is in the patient's best interest to keep the disease in remission for a longer period of time in order to avoid the subsequent appearance of plaques on various parts of the body. Preventive measures help to cope with this task:
- It is necessary to take care of the cleanliness of the skin of the hands;
- You need to stick to proper nutrition and give up bad habits;
- Periodic intake of vitamin complexes is required to strengthen the immune system;
- Do not expose your hands to chemicals.
If a person does not break these rules, then psoriasis will not bother him for a long time.