Psoriasis... What is it
A very persistent condition often enduring for a person's lifetime on one form or another although it does tend to move through three stages: acute, chronic and remission. The aim is always to keep the skin in the remission stage where there are few if any signs of lesions. Around 2 % of the UK's population suffers which makes it quiet common, with an equal spread between the sexes. There is often a genetic component but usually an initial injury, throat infection, certain drugs and physical and emotional stress trigger it for the first time. It is common also through the genetic link to have a form of arthritic joint problem as well.
In Chinese Medicine view the primary cause would be seen as a condition of wind (evil QI, or undesired energy flow) trapped in the skin, producing flaking, scaling and dryness. When the wind persists in the long term it can turn to heat in the blood then is often the primary treatment in Chinese medicine. Since psoriasis is often long standing then this further draws on the reserves of the body, as do most chronic health problems, so the need to physically strengthen and nourish other areas of the body often arises. This means that in some cases people need to be patient to observe the results. It is often said that certain foods would be fall mainly into the spicy foods, fish (except fish oils, which may be beneficial short term) and other sea dwelling produce.
