Psoriasis: Natural measures can put a stop to maddening itching and persistent pain

Psoriasis is an irritating skin condition that affects around two per cent of people in the UK. It strikes both sexes equally and can arise at any age, although it is more likely to appear between the ages of 11 and 45.

The condition causes the acceleration of the normal cell replacement processes of the skin. Normally a skin cell matures in 21 to 28 days during its passage to the surface, where a constant invisible shedding of dead cells takes place.

Psoriatic cells, however, are believed to replace themselves in just two to three days and in such profusion that even live cells reach the surface and accumulate with the dead cells in visible layers.

This causes lesions raised red patches of skin covered with silvery scales. They can appear on any part of your body, although elbows, knees and the scalp are the most usual sites, and their unsightly appearance can soon leave sufferers feeling isolated and depressed. To make matters worse, the lesions are often inflamed and itchy, sometimes to the point of preventing sleep or concentration on normal activities.

Conventional medicine treats psoriasis with aggressive immunosuppressant drugs

Psoriasis is thought to be an immune-mediated disease, meaning that some malfunction of the immune system is involved. While certain genes have been linked to a tendency to psoriasis, it appears that the disease itself is triggered by such things as injury, throat infection, alcohol and physical or emotional stress.

Conventional medical treatment for psoriasis involves different approaches according to the severity of the disease. As a first step, ointments and creams containing coal tar, synthetic forms of vitamin D or drugs such as corticosteroids are applied to the skin. However, coal tar creams can increase skin sensitivity to sunlight, and over-use of corticosteroid creams can cause irreversible thinning of normal skin. In addition, stopping the use of corticosteroid creams can cause symptoms to rebound worse than they were before.

If this topical treatment approach fails to control the condition, the next step would be to expose the skin to ultraviolet radiation a type of treatment called phototherapy. The third step involves the use of medications which are taken orally or injected. Often, the immunosuppresant drugs methotrexate and cyclosporin are prescribed, but can cause nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, tremor, chest pains, swollen gums and mouth ulcers.

Over time, psoriasis can become resistant and fail to respond to any of these treatments. The good news is that a number of studies are now proving the efficacy and safety of several natural products for treating the disease.

Oregon grape extract eases symptoms by inhibiting abnormal skin cell production

The roots and bark of the Oregon grape bush (Mahonia aquifolium) have traditionally been used both orally and topically to treat skin problems. A cream made from Oregon grape extract was found to reduce psoriasis symptoms in a recent double-blind clinical trial. Two hundred people used either a cream containing 10 per cent Oregon grape extract or placebo, twice a day for three months. The group using Oregon grape cream experienced significantly reduced symptoms and greater improvement in their quality of life than those in the placebo group (Am J Ther. 2006;13:121-126).

The active ingredients in Oregon grape are alkaloids called berberine, berbamine and oxyacanthine, which appear to work by inhibiting the growth of abnormal skin cells called keratinocytes (Planta Med 1995; 61(1): 74-75). Oregon grape cream should be applied two or three times a day to the affected areas. Because it contains berberine, which has been reported to cause uterine contractions, pregnant women are advised not to use it.

The fat, fleshy leaves of aloe vera, a cactus-like plant, contain a naturally cooling and healing gel. A double-blind trial in Pakistan found that topical application of aloe vera extract was very effective in the treatment of psoriasis. Sixty people with mild to moderate, chronic psoriasis used a 0.5 per cent aloe vera extract cream, three times a day. By the end of the 16-week study, an impressive 25 out of 30 patients in the aloe vera group experienced a significant clearing of psoriasis symptoms, compared to just two out of 30 with the placebo (Tropical Med Inter Health 1996; 1: 505509). Apply aloe vera gel or a water-based cream to the affected areas two or three times a day.

How the heat of Cayenne peppers can cool down the inflammation of psoriasis

If youre feeling brave, you might like to try capsaicin cream. Capsaicin is the chemical name for the hot stuff in Cayenne peppers and it relieves pain and itching by switching off the neurotransmitters in sensory nerves, after initially stimulating them. There may be a burning sensation the first few times the cream is applied, but this usually becomes less pronounced with each use. In a double-blind study of 200 patients with psoriasis, the use of 0.025 per cent capsaicin cream significantly reduced itching, scaling, thickness, and redness of skin lesions, compared with patients who used a plain cream (J Am Acad Dermatol 1993; 29: 438-42).

Capsaicin is available on prescription only, so you will need to talk to your doctor about using it. The cream should not be applied to areas of broken skin and you should always wash your hands thoroughly after use, to prevent the cream from accidentally reaching your eyes, nose, or mouth.

Fish oils, which help block the production of inflammatory chemicals, can also offer relief from psoriasis symptoms, whether taken internally or applied to the skin. In a double-blind study, an oral dose of 10 grams per day was found to improve the skin lesions of psoriasis (Lancet 1988; i: 378380).  This is a quite a lot of fish oil to take and may cause digestive problems in some people. An alternative is to use purified EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid), one of the essential fatty acids found in fish oil. 

A clinical trial in which people took 3.6 grams per day of EPA (the amount contained in 20 grams of fish oil) resulted in a reduction in the severity of psoriasis after two to three months (Dermatologica 1991; 182: 225230). In a further study, applying a preparation containing 10 per cent fish oil directly to psoriasis lesions twice daily resulted in improvement after seven weeks (Br J Dermatol 1989; 120: 581584).