Aloe Vera for Psoriasis
What is Psoriasis?
Psoriasis is something of an umbrella term used to describe a series of different strains of chronic diseases that affect the skin. There are many different types of psoriasis, with the most common being a disease called plaque psoriasis.
However, psoriasis can occur in many different forms. According to the Mayo Clinic, psoriasis is a disease that affects the way that cells behave on human skin.
It causes the skin to develop layer after layer of skin cells that produce a very thick patch of skin that is often excruciatingly painful.
Sometimes psoriasis only affects certain areas of the body, as is typically the case with plaque psoriasis.
However, psoriasis can affect any area of the body including the scalp and it can even affect the entire body at one time. In addition, psoriatic arthritis is another chronic disease that is directly related to psoriasis.
In this form of the disease, patients experience painful skin eruptions coupled with joints that are swollen and painful.
Symptoms of Psoriasis
There are many different symptoms of psoriasis and many of those symptoms depend on the exact type of psoriasis a person is suffering from, as well as the severity of the condition at any given time.
According to the Mayo Clinic, general symptoms of psoriasis include a scaly appearance to the skin or skin that is very red and inflamed.
The skin may also be excessively dry and may even bleed. People that have psoriasis symptoms typically experience intense itching on the patches of skin that are involved.
As previously mentioned, joint problems may also exist. Of course, it is important to know that psoriasis is a condition where the symptoms have a tendency to wax and wane.
In other words, the symptoms may be extremely severe at times and may affect several different areas of the skin. At other times, the symptoms may be dramatically reduced or they may even all but disappear.
However, it is important to note that at this time, there is no cure for psoriasis. The symptoms can be managed, but many patients still struggle with symptoms even when they are under medical treatment.
How Psoriasis Can Affect the Body
Psoriasis affects the body in many ways, some more obvious than others.
For instance, many people that have psoriasis find that they are almost constantly plagued by itching that becomes so intense it is virtually impossible not to scratch.
Unfortunately, the skin is already irritated and it is very tender to the touch. When people scratch the affected areas of their skin, they are only serving to further irritate the skin and make the situation worse.
However, the itching is often so intense that it is almost impossible not to scratch. This only exacerbates the condition and makes the skin even more tender.
Many times the skin will bleed. This in turn introduces the potential to get some severe infections from all of these open wounds. In addition, psoriasis is a rather painful disease and many times it is painful for anything to touch the affected portions of the skin.
This makes it difficult to wear clothing or to even sleep at night. To make matters worse, the disease can affect the body both internally and externally.
In cases such as these, the joints often become swollen and tender to the touch. They may even become painful, making it difficult to do daily tasks like walking, exercising or going up and down stairs.
All in all, psoriasis is a painful condition where the skin burns and itches so badly that is difficult for patients to focus on anything else.
Officials at the Mayo Clinic have even discovered that people who suffer from psoriasis can dramatically exacerbate their condition by spending too much time in the sun.
This has an adverse impact on anyone who is suffering from the disease because it essentially eliminates the possibility that people who are experiencing a flare-up can go swimming, go to an amusement park or spend a day at the beach.
In other words, it has the potential to severely limit the quality of one’s life as well as their options for how they will deal with the disease.
The disease can be so painful and can cause so many restrictions on a person’s life that it becomes necessary to explore alternative treatment options.
Because there is no cure, treatment is almost always aimed at simply making the symptoms bearable and reducing flare-ups.
However, many of the mainstream medications that are prescribed for psoriasis also come with potentially dangerous side effects.
Therefore, many individuals have made the decision to try other forms of medicine and take a more holistic approach. Aloe vera is one of the most popular alternative medicines used to treat psoriasis successfully.
Aloe Vera Gel Properties
According to the University of Maryland, aloe vera has some very unique properties which are specific to an ability to effectively counteract the symptoms of psoriasis.
For example, Aloe vera is essentially made up of three ingredients. Overwhelmingly, the most abundant ingredient is water.
However, aloe vera also has two additional main properties, glycoprotein, and polysaccharide. This is important because both have the ability to effectively counteract symptoms of many skin conditions, including psoriasis.
Glycoproteins increase the speed at which the skin is able to heal while simultaneously reducing the inflammation that is causing much of the problem in the first place.
Glycoproteins also have the ability to reduce pain, making the symptoms more bearable.
On the other hand, polysaccharides have a tendency to stimulate the repair of damaged skin.
Both of these things combine to help people who are suffering from the symptoms of psoriasis successfully deal with the problem by reducing flare-ups and reducing the severity of symptoms.
In addition, both glycoproteins and polysaccharides are thought to increase a person’s immunity, effectively giving the immune system the extra boost that is often required to combat these types of chronic diseases.
How Aloe Vera Can Benefit Psoriasis
Essentially, aloe vera soothes the skin, reducing the pain and the burning sensation that is often experienced with psoriasis.
It also effectively moisturizes the skin, combatting the excessively dry skin that many psoriasis sufferers experience on a nearly continual basis.
Because of its unique properties, aloe also benefits people who are suffering from psoriasis by taking much of the inflammation out of the skin that has been affected and allowing it to repair itself much more quickly.
At the same time, the properties are intensifying the healing process and reduce the irritation that becomes so critical to psoriasis patients.
How to Use Aloe Vera for Psoriasis
There is a twofold approach to using the plant’s gel to combat psoriasis successfully.
Some people prefer to grow aloe vera plants and apply the clear gel that is in these plants directly to the areas of skin that have been impacted.
This is an effective way to deal with the problem and for people who want to be as holistic as possible with their treatment, this is probably the best course of action that they can take.
However, there are also several topical creams that have recently been developed which have aloe as their main ingredient. Some creams combine the plant’s gel with other ingredients such as hydrocortisone.
It will be up to the individual that is suffering from psoriasis to decide which method of treatment is the best for them.
However, whatever their decision may be, it is vitally important to realize the effectiveness of aloe vera in treating many of the symptoms of psoriasis. In some cases, it is able to treat the symptoms better than more mainstream medications and it is able to do so without the dangerous side effects that come with many of these medications.
Therefore, the use of the plant’s gel has the potential to dramatically alter the lifestyle of those who are suffering from psoriasis.
This type of treatment is usually effective for those who simply prefer not to take pharmaceutical medications, but it is equally valuable for those who have tried other medications and found relatively little success in treating their symptoms.
However as always we recommend consulting with your general health practitioner before changing and or trying any new medications or Aloe Vera to treat your Psoriasis for the best advice for your symptoms.
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Stay Healthy Folks ;)
