DEAR Dr. Fritz,
Good day. I have psoriasis. Urggh! I have already been treated. But, somehow, I still have some eruptions. Are there home treatments that I can do without any need for prescription?
Thanks.
Flor de Luna
*****
Dear Flor de Luna,
I know and I can understand and feel that urghh! It’s something that really hurts physically, emotionally and socially - not to mention financially. It can even drain the spirit to fight. But, this should never be.
I have friends who suffered the same fate. One of my friends would hate it so much when skin eruptions would splurge in her frail body. The eruptions are really not pleasing to the eyes, but, hurting to the senses - especially to someone who had been inflicted with it. This is why, she would not want to go out because her feelings were wounded a lot of times when people would shy away from her thinking that she can infect them. Well, we can’t blame these people. After all, they did not know anything about psoriasis. So, think about it and put yourself in their shoes. Maybe, you would feel the same. So, move on to that, alright? Just remember that psoriasis is not the end of your life. It is only the beginning of your fight to life.
I understand that these skin eruptions will depress you. But, don’t be. Keep the fight burning. Remember that the more depressed you will be, the likely for these psoriatic episodes to have their way. They may have conquered your skin, but, don’t let psoriasis conquer your spirit. As long as we are alive, there is always hope.
With psoriasis, nothing beats medicine, of course. But, this doesn’t mean that you can’t do anything in the comfort of your homes in fighting this emotionally draining disease. Here are some of the things that you can do at home to manage your condition.
1. Be sure your skin is moist
Regularly apply thick lotions or creams and seal the moisture with petroleum jelly, or olive oil. Go light during hot days. If your sweat is mixed with thick creams, this can worsen your psoriasis.
After bath, don’t rub your skin with towel, just pat yourself dry. And before you go to bed, wrap your skin with bandage or plastic wrap and wash this in the morning. This reduces the scaling eventually.
2. Take a bath with care
Take a bath only every other day or every third day, as too many baths can dry your skin. Use lukewarm water. Add salts, oil or finely grounded oatmeal to your bath water.
3. Stick to your medicine
If your doctor tells you to apply those creams or ointments, go for it, even if sometimes, they are messy and tough.
(Dr. Fritz Legarde Espedilla is an aesthetic dermatologist and surgeon and a clinical sexologist. She is also trained in hypnotherapy and Medical Acupuncture. She is the anchor of Secrets of Dr. Fritz, of Hugyaw.com. She has been in the broadcast media for more than a decade and has written a book based on her 15 year stint with her radio program, “Healthy is Sexy Secrets ni Dr. Fritz.”. For your questions, you may e-mail them to dokfritz@yahoo.com. If you don’t wish your letter to be published, we regret that we cannot answer them. Thank you for your understanding.)