A personal experience with Psoriasis

The purpose of this article is to tell the world what I have learned from my own personal experience about an inexpensive and effective treatment for eczema.

 

Because psoriasis is a very similar affliction, there’s a good chance that this treatment would be effective for psoriasis too. Eczema is a skin irritation characterized by red, flaky skin that sometimes has cracks or tiny blisters. It’s believed to be hereditary and if both parents have it, there is an 80% chance that their children will have it too.

 

Once upon a time, I had medical insurance coverage and I was able to afford any medication my doctor prescribed. I used to have a slew of little bottles and creams that were somewhat effective in relieving the itching, but nothing I ever tried had any effect whatsoever in terms of reducing the severity or frequency of eczema attacks. Topical applications of cortisone cream have a limited effect in terms of relieving the itching, but cortisone just suppresses eczema and can actually cause it to spread. There’s a theory that eczema can be brought on by stress, and I believe that may be true. After experiencing a year long constant virulent attack during 2004 through 2005 when I was under severe stress, I decided to seek medical help in order to find out whether anything new had been discovered regarding eczema treatment.

The only treatment I didn’t already know about involves exposure to ultraviolet light radiation which is very expensive. For many years there have been medications that are taken internally, but all of them require regular blood testing for possible liver damage. For me, this is out of the question because any medication that is capable of causing liver damage comes under the category of unacceptable.

One day I was returning from a doctor visit when I passed a health food store, and I had some time to spend so I went in. The woman behind the counter turned out to be a certified nutritionist so I asked her whether she knew anything about eczema treatment that the doctors don’t know about. She said “Yes, I do.” I said “Really. Tell me.” She brought out a small bottle of liquid zinc and told me that some of her customers had reported success with topical applications on their eczema sores. So I bought a bottle. I figured “What have I got to lose? Nothing. Twenty bucks, maybe.” To my surprise, it relieved the itching and seemed to have some limited effect in reducing the inflammations.

The health food store lady had told me that zinc is a healer so I started thinking about it. I remembered that Desitin is a very effective and well known treatment for baby rash and that the active ingredient is zinc oxide. I thought “If liquid zinc is effective topically, how much more effective could it be if I take it internally?” Being inherently cheap, I was a bit bothered by the idea of buying another small bottle of liquid zinc and I knew that zinc tablets are inexpensive. And that certainly appealed to my wallet. I discussed my idea with the nutritionist who agreed that it could work. So I began with the 75 mg. daily dose that the woman recommended and gradually worked my way upwards until I reached 200 mg. a day.

Eczema makes me so angry that I often curse “the eczema Nazis” each time the first blister occurs with the unmistakable itch that feels like it originates in my bones. I say to myself, “Damnation, I’m under attack again!”

Now I say “Come on zinc, be John Wayne and kill every last one of those eczema Nazis!” Eight months after I began my inexpensive experiment with zinc taken internally, I can report real progress. Where previously one tiny eczema blister always signaled a serious outbreak, now it stops without spreading any further and heals very quickly. The indicative first blister is not necessarily accompanied by itching either. To me, this is very significant because it constitutes a completely new pattern that has never before manifested in my entire life.

If you want to try taking zinc internally, I’d recommend “chelated” zinc because zinc is a mineral and minerals are not easily absorbed into the bloodstream.

Back in the early 1980’s, the health food industry discovered that if minerals are chemically linked to something the body can easily absorb, they are far more effective. The chemists who invent these things decided to use amino acids which are natural proteins, and proteins are easily absorbable. The process of chemically linking a mineral to an amino acid is called chelation. I’ve written all this with a sincere desire to help others benefit from my experience and I really hope that somebody out there has found my article to be valuable.

 

 

 

REFERENCES

Psoriasis: Symptoms, Pictures, and More – MedicineNet

May 2, 2014 … Get information on psoriasis treatment, symptoms, causes, medication and types: vulgaris, guttate, inverse and pustular. Red dry flakes, skin …

Psoriasis Causes, Symptoms, Treatments – WebMD

Learn about psoriasis, a chronic skin condition that causes skin cells to grow too quickly, resulting in thick, white, silvery, or red patches of skin

.Psoriasis: Click for Treatment and Medications – eMedicineHealth

Oct 23, 2014 … Psoriasis is a common and chronic skin disorder that affects 1%-2% of people in the U.S. See pictures, and read about psoriasis symptoms, …

 

 

 

 

Allergic to pets

People can become allergic to pets because of proteins from animal hair, urine or saliva. Pets which can cause allergies are dogs, cats, chicken, mice, rats, cows, horses, hamsters, guinea pig and birds. Allergic reaction can attack the respiratory system, eyes which can result in hay fever, urticaria, asthmatic symptoms, eye symptoms or eczema.

Hay fever makes the patient develop itchy eyes, runny nose and sneezes. Asthmatic symptoms are wheezing, prolonged expiration, rapid breathing, over inflated chest, and fast heart rate. Urticaria, nettle rash, hives or uredo is a skin condition where the skin develops raised red welts. They can appear on any part of the body. The welt can badly itch, burn or even sting. Eye symptoms include watering and itching of the eyes. Eczema or atopic dermatitis is an atopic skin disease. Young children are more prone to getting this disease. The skin becomes hypersensitive when the allergens touch the body parts and becomes flaky and starts itching very badly. It also turns red and can also get further affected with bacteria.

Allergens from pets are proteins. They either contact the skin directly or also by breathing in. This contact triggers an allergic reaction and makes the body to produce histamine. This histamine irritates and swells the airways, which results in asthmatic symptoms and hay fever. The condition can worsen if the person is exposed to tobacco smoke, polluted air, car fumes or environmental allergens. Some people can also be allergic to the food the pet eats. The allergy worsens when asthma worsens; symptoms include insomnia, cold, and ear infections.

The allergens come from direct contact with an animal, or even from people who have been in direct contact with the animal. In most of the cases, people are allergic to pet because of hereditary reasons. Also kids having asthmatic bronchitis and which grow with pets such as cats are more prone to be allergic to cats as adults. Furless cats produce low allergens.

People allergic to pets should be extra careful when renting a new house. There can be a possibility that the previous occupants have had pets. The allergens present in the environment can trigger allergic reactions and it will take more than a year to reduce the effect of the pet allergens. If a person suspects allergic reactions because of pet allergens, they can test it by staying away from home for more than two weeks. If the symptoms still continue, pet allergens aren’t responsible. Also a doctor should be contacted immediately who can conduct test and diagnose the condition. Blood and skin tests should be taken to confirm the diagnosis. The doctor can then prescribe medicine for controlling the allergy. Patients can also take vaccination against the allergen.

Pet owners should also participate to help other people with pet allergies. They should bathe their pets regularly. They should be dried completely after that. Researches have proved that monthly baths decreases the pet allergens in the house. Guinea pigs and rabbits have allergens in their urine. These animals should be shifted outside, if they have been living within the house. Anti-allergen filters are also available in the market which helps to purify the air of allergens. Pets should be strictly kept out of bedrooms so as to not to be become pet allergen carriers, pet owner’s can wash their hands soon after contact with the animal.

Treatment of Psoriasis

In medical terms, the treatment that medical professionals and other doctors would recommend for psoriasis will to a very large extent depend upon the severity of the condition being suffered by the individual seeking advice.

Some dermatologists would classify psoriasis in three different categories, being mild, moderate and severe with the definition of each of these categories depending on the percentage of the patient’s body that is covered with psoriasis lesions.
By these standards, anyone who has lesions cover between 5% and 10% of their body would fall into the mild category, 10% to 20% would be moderate and anyone who has more than 20% of their body covered in psoriasis lesions would fall into the severe category.
It has already been suggested that up to 20% of the population of the USA (and by extension of the rest of the Western world) may suffer psoriasis, with the vast majority falling into the mild or even very mild category. For many of these people, their condition is nothing more than a mild annoyance with moderate skin lesions and minor itching, often on a temporary basis.
At the other end of the scale, there are some unfortunates whose condition is so severe that they develop lesions all over their body and have to be hospitalized so that the condition can be treated. For these people, their psoriasis is likely to be extremely painful and in addition, it can also be disfiguring and even potentially disabling.
And unfortunately, because psoriasis is a chronic condition, meaning that it is one that is a lifelong thing, there can be no total relief for any sufferer. Psoriasis is a condition that can apparently clear up and then return (often with a vengeance) many times throughout life, and because there is no recognized cure for the condition, this is a fact that every psoriasis sufferer has to get used to and live with.

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