Alternative Answers for Psoriasis

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By Andrew Pacholyk MS L.Ac

Psoriasis is an autoimmune disease that appears on the skin, usually in the form of thick, red, scaly patches. It occurs when the immune system sends out faulty signals that speed up the growth cycle of skin cells. Psoriasis is not contagious. It has been referred to as the same process that a wound heals. If you cut yourself, the skin heals by regenerating the top layers. When the wound is healed, the process stops but for psoriasis sufferers, once this process is triggered by any of a number of factors, skin cells are stimulated to continue growing. This usually doesn’t stop unless the cycle is interrupted with treatment.

Psoriasis, as an autoimmune disease, is divided into acute phase, psoriasis vulgaris, and reoccurring, chronic psoriasis vulgaris. These are divided into five types of psoriasis: plaque, guttate, inverse, pustular and erythrodermic. The most common form, plaque psoriasis, appears as raised, red patches or lesions covered with a silvery white buildup of dead skin cells, called scales. Psoriasis can occur on any part of the body. Psoriasis is often associated with other serious conditions such as diabetes, heart disease and obesity.

Aloe vera looks like a cactus with soft leaves. The fluid contained in the leaves has been used for centuries to treat burns and minor wounds. Today, aloe gel is used frequently as an ingredient in cosmetics, creams, ointments and suntan lotions. A study published in 1996 in Tropical Medicine and International Health found that aloe vera was very effective in the treatment of psoriasis. By the end of the 16-week study, a cream with aloe vera extract caused a significant clearing of psoriasis in 25 of 30 patients, compared to two out of 30 with the placebo. However, a study published in May 2005 in the Journal of the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology found that the effect of commercial aloe vera gel on stable plaque psoriasis was modest and not much better than placebo.