Page 82 - LECTURE NOTES

♦ Trauma

♦ Infections
♦ Seasonal and hormonal changes

♦ Cigarette smoking

♦ Alcohol consumption and drugs

♦ Non steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs.

Clinical manifestation:
¾ Lesions appear as dark red, raised plaque lesion covered with silvery scales

¾ Lesions produce multiple bleeding points when the scales are scraped away

¾ These patches are not moist and mostly is not itchy
¾ When psoriasis occurs on the palms and soles, it can cause pustular lesions

¾ Lesions can be symmetrical

Particular sites of the body tend to be affected

¾ Scalp
¾ The area over the elbows and knees, lower part of the back & genitalia

¾ The extensor surfaces of the arms and legs,
¾ Over the sacrum and the inter gluteal fold

If nails are involved, it may be presented by

- Pitting
- Discoloration

- Crumbling beneath the free edge and
- Separation of the nail plates

Complications
¾ Arthritis (the relation is not understood)

¾ Erytherodermic psoriasis (involving the whole body surface)

Treatment

Goal: To reduce the rapid turnover of the epidermis and to promote resolution of the

psoriatic lesions

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