Psoriatic onychodystrophy, better known to the people as nail psoriasis, is a whole complex of various diseases that occur in people of different ages and nationalities. The disease is accompanied by a combination of damage to human nail plates, skin and joints. There are no methods that allow you to completely get rid of the problem. Together, doctors developed different ways to eliminate most signs of the disease, thus determining the patient's state of remission.
Characteristics of the disease
Nail psoriasis - this disease usually occurs in a chronic form. A noncommunicable disease is not transmitted by droplets or airborne contact. It can occur in absolutely anyone, regardless of nationality, age, sex, job characteristics and other factors.
A disease fraught with serious consequences is diagnosed in 3% of the world's population. In almost half of the cases, it was determined that the disease was inherited from the parents to the patient.
In 35% of all patients, determining the cause of the disease is completely problematic. Here, only the patient's attending physician must decide how to treat, after analyzing the condition, comparing the patient's exams. The therapy process does not depend on whether the triggering factors for the development of the disease are established or not.
For the first time, this phenomenon that affects plaque interested French dermatologist Jean Louis Marc Aliber. The clinical lesion was described in 1853 by Laurent-Theodor Biette.
The need to study the phenomenon is due to the fact that the disease is very common. The disease is still considered incurable. It can significantly worsen a person's life, leading to disability if left untreated.
Main Possible Causes
Nail psoriasis refers to diseases that have a complex etiology of their occurrence. In many cases, doctors are unable to determine exactly why the patient has the first signs of the disease. The most common factors that affect this, experts include:
- Psycho-emotional overstrain, stress. Excessive fatigue, as well as problems at work or school in 50% of all cases cause the first symptoms of the disease. In addition, it is this factor that can provoke the development of relapses.
- Skin infection. This applies to infection by viruses, bacteria, fungi. They cause the human immune system to fail.
- hereditary predisposition. If one of the parents is sick, the risk that psoriasis will appear on their child is 25%. With the development of the disease in the father, mother, the chance of the disease in their heirs increases to 70%. However, often a completely healthy child is born to sick parents.
- Some metabolic diseases. They occur more often in women than in men. This is because diseases of this type are often associated with pregnancy, the menstrual cycle or menopause.
- Disorders in the hormonal system. They lead to violations of the amount of certain substances in the human body, as a result of the work of all body systems beyond the norm.
- Diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, liver.
- Allergic reactions. As a result of them, the work of various systems of the human body is interrupted, which ends up causing a problem.
- toxic effect. The onset of the disease is often associated with a variety of food poisonings. In addition, working in factories or factories can also provoke the development of the disease.
- External influence. They can be mechanical, thermal or chemical injuries to the body.
Psoriatic onychodystrophy can occur due to the development of various diseases and pathologies. This does not affect the treatment methods of this disease, but it is better to find out the underlying cause as it must be eliminated so that it does not cause a relapse in the future.
disease symptoms
Symptoms can be different, which directly depends on the location of the disease process. In the course of the active progression of the disease, it changes its shape, even its appearance. Nearby skin is often involved in the process itself.
Today, professionals distinguish some characteristic forms of expression of the disease, which manifests itself in the hands and feet:
- In the form of a thimble. It is distinguished by a curve and another clouding of the nail. There are small grooves, pinholes. Pressing on the nails in such situations is accompanied by painful sensations.
- Onycholysis. It has a different nail color plus a characteristic detachment of the nail bed plate. Pain in these cases does not occur with pressure. At the same time, epidermal particles, air bubbles and dirt accumulate under the nails.
- subungualIt is characterized by damage to the capillaries, due to which cyanotic, brown or red spots, stripes appear under the nail plates. In addition, this type of psoriasis is accompanied by symptoms that are quite common for this disease. If you press on the nail, pus will come out from under it.
Nail damage in psoriasis occurs in a number of ways. Typical symptoms of this disease include symptoms such as:
- trachyonychia - thickening of the nail, due to which it becomes rough and dull;
- paronychia - a painful formation of an infiltrate that affects the nail folds;
- onychogryphosis - a change in the shape of the nail, which begins to resemble a vulture's claw.
How to treat nail psoriasis? Here, initially, it is necessary to correctly assess and analyze the situation, carry out tests, prescribe diagnoses.
ways to heal
The question of how to cure nail psoriasis, in any case, confronts all people who have had to deal with this disease. It is impossible to completely get rid of this disease, but at the same time, a qualified doctor can put the patient in a state of remission.
The treatment of the disease takes place with medication, physiotherapy, folk methods, appropriate cosmetic body care. Only a complex of cosmetic, medical and folkloric events allows to obtain a lasting and lasting effect.
medical therapy
Treatment of nail psoriasis with medication mainly takes place with the help of a variety of external topical agents. This applies to a variety of creams, ointments, gels.
Also, nails for psoriasis are treated with various steroid medications.
If a person has nail psoriasis, he should be treated with folk remedies while taking the above medicines. Independently alternative methods of therapy will not give any positive results.
To eliminate this process that accompanies psoriasis of the nails, salicylic ointment is most often prescribed to patients. Sometimes treating the fingers with a solution of immunosuppressive agents, drugs that suppress the work of a person's immunity, can help. Cyclosporine is recommended in most cases. With it, you need to treat the affected areas twice a day for 4 months.
Psoriasis due to a set of measures can be brought to a state of remission. In order for it to last for a long period of time, it is worth preventing the occurrence of any factors that could contribute to the recurrence of the disease. That is why, in the first place, experts recommend taking antidepressants to patients.
In addition, you need to determine whether you have psoriasis of the nails, which the body is lacking in vitamins and trace elements (sulfur, zinc, calcium). Based on the collected data, it is necessary to select the correct complex of substances that acts to normalize the level of the immune system.
physiotherapy procedures
Currently, physiotherapeutic treatment is carried out through methods such as:
- Laser exposure, light pulses.
- electrical impact.
- USA, IF waves.
Treatment with physical therapy procedures is most effective with the use of magnetic laser therapy. The complex must include electric sleep. The combination of the two methods significantly increases the possibility of a positive patient healing dynamic.
Before starting to treat nails with severe psoriasis with the help of physical therapy, you need to understand that this method does not help everyone. In patients, acute symptoms and a pronounced inflammatory process quickly disappear.
home remedies
To date, when nail psoriasis is detected, treatment at home takes place with the help of a wide variety of means that can potentiate the effect of medications. The main thing is to choose a method of therapy that suits a sick person without provoking a deterioration in the condition of the nail plates.
If a patient is diagnosed with nail psoriasis, home treatment is best done using very reliable methods:
- Herbal baths. To do this, you need to prepare a decoction made from string, chamomile, sage. Keep damaged fingers for 15 to 20 minutes. Treating nail psoriasis in this way allows you to smooth the skin with nail plates.
- Ointment of 100 g of copper sulfate plus 3 g of potassium permanganate. Dissolve these components in 1 liter of boiling water. The resulting remedy should be applied to the damaged fingers for a week. Repeat the course after 5 days. Psoriasis under the nails will not be eliminated in this way, but the patient's condition can improve significantly.
- A decoction of elecampane root, succession, blueberry leaves, celandine, black elderflower flowers. From the ingredients listed, you need to make a mixture that you prepare every day, a spoon, like tea. Boil the water after that for 5 minutes. Experts recommend drinking 0. 5 cups of this decoction twice a day 2 hours after eating. Nail psoriasis will not go away with this treatment. At the same time, this therapy can significantly improve the condition of a sick person. That is why it should not be ignored, as the effective fight against the disease is a complex of several activities that complement each other.
Having psoriasis, home treatment on nails should be carried out only in the context of drug therapy. Alternative methods of therapy on their own are not able to deal with this rather serious illness.
nail care
Nail psoriasis and its treatment should be carried out against the background of the correct implementation of various hygiene procedures. To do this, you must follow the following fairly simple but important rules:
- Nails must be cut carefully without damaging the surface of surrounding tissues. In no case should it not injure the skin. If this is done, the disease can spread to new areas of the body. Treatment of nail psoriasis will have to be carried out over a long period of time.
- When doing household chores, be sure to wear gloves. This applies to washing clothes, washing dishes, cleaning rooms. In the process, it is often possible to damage the skin, both mechanically and chemically. Under no circumstances should this be allowed. If psoriasis of the fingernails or toenails is in remission, a relapse can be triggered in this way.
- If possible, you should refuse manicure, pedicure. These procedures damage the skin and nail plates too much.
- Be sure to keep your hands clean. Psoriasis damages dirty nails much faster, as dust particles accelerate keratinization and many other adverse processes.
Thus, it is important to understand not only how to cure psoriasis nails, but also ways to prevent the onset of this disease. If you correctly follow all the recommendations of doctors, you can protect yourself from an adverse disease for a long time.
The consequences of the disease
Toenail psoriasis is a serious condition that creates physical and psychological discomfort. The course of the disease usually passes through certain periods, which are accompanied by a significant improvement in the patient's condition, deterioration of his health. As a result, the patient must constantly be extremely careful.
The treatment of psoriasis of the fingernails and toenails should always be accompanied by the use of antidepressants or visits to a psychologist. This is due to the fact that one of the consequences of this disease is nervous tension. In these situations, patients can become addicted to alcohol, which in turn only worsens their condition. In this context, other chronic diseases flow negatively. First of all, it is about heart attack, ischemia, diabetes, oncological processes.
Generalized nail psoriasis requires treatment as it can even cause death. Less serious but quite significant consequences of the disease include body temperature, weakness and absorption of folic acid.
Thus, it is important to understand how to treat nail psoriasis as it can not only improve overall health but save lives. The main thing is to strictly follow all the recommendations of dermatologists.