Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsEffects of InflammationCausesSymptomsTreatmentFrequently Asked Questions
Table of ContentsView All
View All
Table of Contents
Effects of Inflammation
Causes
Symptoms
Treatment
Frequently Asked Questions
In people withoutpsoriasis, skin cells are shed monthly, and new skin growth occurs to replace what is lost. However, in people with psoriasis, inflammatory processes speed up skin cell growth, a sign of an overactive immune system. The result of these processes isinflammation, which is thought to play a role in the development and continuing effects of psoriasis.
Reducing inflammation throughout the body is an important part of treating psoriasis, reducing symptoms, preventing disease complications, and improving overall health.
This article discusses the role of inflammation in psoriasis as well as symptom management and treatment.
Verywell / Katie Kerpel
Effects of Inflammation on Psoriasis
Inflammation is the body’s natural response to defend and repair.When a healthy person becomes sick, their immune system triggers inflammation.White blood cellsrush in to protect against invaders and repair the damage. When the illness stops (heals), the inflammation stops.
But for people with inflammatory conditions, that inflammation continues. In people with psoriasis, that widespread inflammatory response pushes new skin cell growth before old skin cells have had an opportunity to shed.
New skin cells then push up old cells to the surface leading to plaques and scales. These become visible on the skin’s outermost layer.
The effects of psoriasis don’t always stop at the skin. Up to 30% of people with psoriasis will go on to develop a type of arthritis calledpsoriatic arthritis(PsA).PsA is a chronic, inflammatory kind of arthritis. The ongoing inflammation wreaks havoc on the joints and areas where the tendons and ligaments connect to bone (the entheses).
Enthesitis and Enthesopathy Explained
Studies have found people with psoriasis are at a higher risk for many different health conditions, including heart attacks, strokes, diabetes, inflammatory bowel disease, and depression.The same inflammatory processes that promote psoriasis also play a role in the development of many of these other very serious conditions.
Comorbidities in Psoriasis
Researchers are unclear about what causes psoriasis. But after many decades of research, most speculate that genetics and the immune system are to blame.
Genetics
Some people will inherit genes that make it more likely for them to develop psoriasis at some point in their lives. If you have an immediate family member with psoriasis, your risk for the condition is much higher than others without a family history of the disease.
This is best shown in twin studies where it has been found that identical twins have a 70% possibility of both carrying the same mutation responsible for psoriasis, while fraternal twins have a 20% possibility of carrying the same gene mutation for the condition.
While studies that look atgenes linked to psoriasisare helpful, the genetics of the condition are still very complex. It is still possible to have psoriasis with no family history.
Is Psoriasis Hereditary?
The Immune System
Psoriasis is anautoimmune disease. Autoimmune conditions are the result of your body attacking itself. With psoriasis, white blood cells called T-cells produce inflammation-inducing substances that affect skin cells.
These are the same T-cells that are supposed to attack and destroy invading bacteria in infections. But for some reason, they go into overdrive and speed up skin cell production.
A triggering event may be what causes immune system changes leading to the onset of psoriasis. Common triggering events include chronic stress, infections (especially strep infections), skin injury, and the use of certain medications.
10 Common Triggers of Psoriasis Flares
The symptoms of psoriasis vary from person to person and depend on thetype of psoriasis. Psoriasis skin plaques can cover small areas or they can cover most of the body.
Some common symptoms of psoriasis are:
Not everyone with psoriasis will experience all the above symptoms.
Rare SymptomsSome people will have different symptoms that are rarer, includingpus-filled bumpsandskin that appears extremely red or burnt-like. These rarer symptoms tend to be more severe, and some might even be life-threatening. Reach out to your doctor if you are experiencing symptoms of psoriasis that are considered rare or severe.
Rare Symptoms
Some people will have different symptoms that are rarer, includingpus-filled bumpsandskin that appears extremely red or burnt-like. These rarer symptoms tend to be more severe, and some might even be life-threatening. Reach out to your doctor if you are experiencing symptoms of psoriasis that are considered rare or severe.
Symptom Severity
Most people with psoriasis will experience periods of flare-ups and times where their condition is in remission.
When psoriasis flares up, you may experience more severe symptoms for days or weeks, but eventually, symptoms clear up and are less noticeable or less severe. And you could go weeks where psoriasis symptoms are mild, and then the condition flares up again.
Sometimes, psoriasis symptoms can disappear completely. When you experience no active symptoms of the condition, you might be in remission. But remission doesn’t mean your symptoms are gone forever; it just means you are currently symptom-free.
Psoriasis is a lifelong condition that has no cure. Treating psoriasis is aimed at stopping the inflammation that causes skin cells to regenerate too quickly, managing symptoms, removing scales, and improving a person’s quality of life.
Treatment for psoriasis falls into three categories: topical medicines, phototherapy, and systemic drugs.
Topical Medicines
Topical treatments (applied to the skin) are usually the first treatments given to people whose psoriasis is mild to moderate.
Some topical treatments recommended for psoriasis include:
It could take several weeks for you to notice improvements in skin symptoms using topical therapies for psoriasis.
For some people, topical treatments are not enough to control their psoriasis symptoms. For example, a person withscalp psoriasismight need special shampoo and an ointment to manage and reduce their symptoms.
Phototherapy
Sunlight has been used to treat a variety of skin conditions going back several thousands of years.Back then, the benefits of ultraviolet (UV) radiation for managing symptoms of psoriasis were not yet known. Doctors today know how valuable the use of machines that shine UV rays on the skin can be.
Phototherapy, also called light therapy, can slow down fast-growing skin cells in people with psoriasis. Thesetreatments can be done at your dermatologist’soffice a few times a week. But you also have the option of at-home kits that can be just as helpful.
Different types of phototherapy used to treat psoriasis are:
A short-term side effect of light therapy is that it can make the skin feel sunburned. A long-term side effect is that it can increase the risk for skin cancer.
Light therapy is not recommended for people who have had skin cancer or have medical conditions that increase the risk for skin cancer. People who have medical conditions or take medicines that make them more sensitive to UV light shouldn’t use light therapy.
Systemic Drugs
If your psoriasis is severe or other therapies have not helped, your doctor might recommend systemic treatments. These therapies are designed to work throughout your entire body and can be very effective for treating psoriasis.
Systemic medicines come with potentially serious side effects, but all the systemic medicines for psoriasis have their benefits too. Your doctor can best explain your treatment options and the risks associated with them.
Non-Biologic Medicines
These drugs can affect blood cell production and cause high blood pressure, kidney damage, or liver damage. Do not consume alcohol when using methotrexate or cyclosporine.
Biologic Medicines
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved several different biologic drugs for treating psoriasis.These include:
If your doctor recommends a biologic drug, you will need to be screened fortuberculosis(TB) and other infectious diseases before you start treatment. You should discuss with your doctor all the short- and long-term side effects and risks associated with biologic drug use.
Increased Risk of InfectionBiologic drugs increase your risk forinfection. You should watch out for signs of infection—fever, cough, or flu-like symptoms—while treating with a biologic, and reach out to your doctor right away if you think you might have an infection.
Increased Risk of Infection
Biologic drugs increase your risk forinfection. You should watch out for signs of infection—fever, cough, or flu-like symptoms—while treating with a biologic, and reach out to your doctor right away if you think you might have an infection.
Your Diet
While the research on diet and inflammation is mixed, many people with psoriasis find that making changes to their diet improves their symptoms.A good place to start is to avoid foods that are thought to increase inflammation. You should also aim to eat more foods that are consideredanti-inflammatory.
Foods that are believed to increase inflammation include:
Foods that are part of ananti-inflammatory dietmight include:
While there has not been enough research to confirm any direct links between psoriasis flare-ups and what you eat, it is always wise to pay close attention to your experience with psoriasis. If your skin symptoms worsen when you eat certain foods, stop eating those foods. If your psoriasis improves, then that food might not be a trigger for you.
Lifestyle habits like avoiding alcohol and smoking and losing excess weight can also help with psoriasis.
Summary
Psoriasis is an inflammatory skin disease that causes itchy plaques or skin patches to develop on the skin as a result of accelerated skin cell production. These plaques and patches can affect any part of your body, but they commonly appear on the knees, elbows, and scalp.
The driving force behind psoriasis is inflammation, which speeds up skin cell growth. And because of the systemic inflammation in psoriasis, people with the condition might also experience other inflammatory-related health conditions, including heart disease.
There is no cure for psoriasis, but treatment can help reduce symptoms and your risk for related conditions.
A Word From Verywell
Psoriasis inflammation can wreak a lot of havoc on your body and cause many other inflammatory-related conditions. Taking the right steps to reduce inflammation, including taking your treatments as prescribed and eating a healthy diet, can reduce psoriasis symptoms and your risk for other conditions. Your doctor can help recommend a treatment plan based on your symptoms and the severity of your psoriasis.
Frequently Asked QuestionsPsoriasis is known for causing systemic inflammation, which is an inflammation that is widespread across the body. Normally, the body responds with acute inflammation to heal injured cells. However, in psoriasis, an overactive immune system uses ongoing, systemic inflammation that attacks healthy cells.Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs(NSAIDs) like Advil or Motrin (ibuprofen) and aspirin help ease psoriatic arthritis pain, but they generally don’t help improve psoriasis. NSAIDs might help reduce skin inflammation, but there are no studies or research to confirm benefits linked to their use in psoriasis.
Psoriasis is known for causing systemic inflammation, which is an inflammation that is widespread across the body. Normally, the body responds with acute inflammation to heal injured cells. However, in psoriasis, an overactive immune system uses ongoing, systemic inflammation that attacks healthy cells.
Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs(NSAIDs) like Advil or Motrin (ibuprofen) and aspirin help ease psoriatic arthritis pain, but they generally don’t help improve psoriasis. NSAIDs might help reduce skin inflammation, but there are no studies or research to confirm benefits linked to their use in psoriasis.
16 SourcesVerywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Chen L, Deng H, Cui H, et al.Inflammatory responses and inflammation-associated diseases in organs.Oncotarget.2017;9(6):7204-7218. doi:10.18632/oncotarget.23208Lowes MA, Suárez-Fariñas M, Krueger JG.Immunology of psoriasis.Annu Rev Immunol. 2014;32:227-255. doi:10.1146/annurev-immunol-032713-120225National Psoriasis Foundation.About psoriatic arthritis.National Psoriasis Foundation.Causes and triggers.Kim WB, Jerome D, Yeung J.Diagnosis and management of psoriasis.Can Fam Physician. 2017;63(4):278-285.Armstrong AW.Psoriasis.JAMA Dermatol. 2017;153(9):956. doi:10.1001/jamadermatol.2017.2103National Psoriasis Foundation.Over-the-counter topicals.Juzeniene A, Moan J.Beneficial effects of UV radiation other than via vitamin D production.Dermatoendocrinol.2012;4(2):109-117. doi:10.4161/derm.20013American Academy of Dermatology Association.Psoriasis treatment: phototherapy.Cather JC, Crowley JJ.Use of biologic agents in combination with other therapies for the treatment of psoriasis.Am J Clin Dermatol. 2014;15(6):467-478. doi:10.1007/s40257-014-0097-1National Psoriasis Foundation.Soriatane (acitretin).Zerilli T, Ocheretyaner E.Apremilast (Otezla): a new oral treatment for adults with psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis.P T.2015;40(8):495-500.National Psoriasis Foundation.Biologics.American Academy of Dermatology Association.Psoriasis treatment: biologics.National Psoriasis Foundation.Dietary modifications.Ko SH, Chi CC, Yeh ML, Wang SH, Tsai YS, Hsu MY.Lifestyle changes for treating psoriasis.Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2019;7(7):CD011972. doi:10.1002/14651858.CD011972.pub2
16 Sources
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Chen L, Deng H, Cui H, et al.Inflammatory responses and inflammation-associated diseases in organs.Oncotarget.2017;9(6):7204-7218. doi:10.18632/oncotarget.23208Lowes MA, Suárez-Fariñas M, Krueger JG.Immunology of psoriasis.Annu Rev Immunol. 2014;32:227-255. doi:10.1146/annurev-immunol-032713-120225National Psoriasis Foundation.About psoriatic arthritis.National Psoriasis Foundation.Causes and triggers.Kim WB, Jerome D, Yeung J.Diagnosis and management of psoriasis.Can Fam Physician. 2017;63(4):278-285.Armstrong AW.Psoriasis.JAMA Dermatol. 2017;153(9):956. doi:10.1001/jamadermatol.2017.2103National Psoriasis Foundation.Over-the-counter topicals.Juzeniene A, Moan J.Beneficial effects of UV radiation other than via vitamin D production.Dermatoendocrinol.2012;4(2):109-117. doi:10.4161/derm.20013American Academy of Dermatology Association.Psoriasis treatment: phototherapy.Cather JC, Crowley JJ.Use of biologic agents in combination with other therapies for the treatment of psoriasis.Am J Clin Dermatol. 2014;15(6):467-478. doi:10.1007/s40257-014-0097-1National Psoriasis Foundation.Soriatane (acitretin).Zerilli T, Ocheretyaner E.Apremilast (Otezla): a new oral treatment for adults with psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis.P T.2015;40(8):495-500.National Psoriasis Foundation.Biologics.American Academy of Dermatology Association.Psoriasis treatment: biologics.National Psoriasis Foundation.Dietary modifications.Ko SH, Chi CC, Yeh ML, Wang SH, Tsai YS, Hsu MY.Lifestyle changes for treating psoriasis.Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2019;7(7):CD011972. doi:10.1002/14651858.CD011972.pub2
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
Chen L, Deng H, Cui H, et al.Inflammatory responses and inflammation-associated diseases in organs.Oncotarget.2017;9(6):7204-7218. doi:10.18632/oncotarget.23208Lowes MA, Suárez-Fariñas M, Krueger JG.Immunology of psoriasis.Annu Rev Immunol. 2014;32:227-255. doi:10.1146/annurev-immunol-032713-120225National Psoriasis Foundation.About psoriatic arthritis.National Psoriasis Foundation.Causes and triggers.Kim WB, Jerome D, Yeung J.Diagnosis and management of psoriasis.Can Fam Physician. 2017;63(4):278-285.Armstrong AW.Psoriasis.JAMA Dermatol. 2017;153(9):956. doi:10.1001/jamadermatol.2017.2103National Psoriasis Foundation.Over-the-counter topicals.Juzeniene A, Moan J.Beneficial effects of UV radiation other than via vitamin D production.Dermatoendocrinol.2012;4(2):109-117. doi:10.4161/derm.20013American Academy of Dermatology Association.Psoriasis treatment: phototherapy.Cather JC, Crowley JJ.Use of biologic agents in combination with other therapies for the treatment of psoriasis.Am J Clin Dermatol. 2014;15(6):467-478. doi:10.1007/s40257-014-0097-1National Psoriasis Foundation.Soriatane (acitretin).Zerilli T, Ocheretyaner E.Apremilast (Otezla): a new oral treatment for adults with psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis.P T.2015;40(8):495-500.National Psoriasis Foundation.Biologics.American Academy of Dermatology Association.Psoriasis treatment: biologics.National Psoriasis Foundation.Dietary modifications.Ko SH, Chi CC, Yeh ML, Wang SH, Tsai YS, Hsu MY.Lifestyle changes for treating psoriasis.Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2019;7(7):CD011972. doi:10.1002/14651858.CD011972.pub2
Chen L, Deng H, Cui H, et al.Inflammatory responses and inflammation-associated diseases in organs.Oncotarget.2017;9(6):7204-7218. doi:10.18632/oncotarget.23208
Lowes MA, Suárez-Fariñas M, Krueger JG.Immunology of psoriasis.Annu Rev Immunol. 2014;32:227-255. doi:10.1146/annurev-immunol-032713-120225
National Psoriasis Foundation.About psoriatic arthritis.
National Psoriasis Foundation.Causes and triggers.
Kim WB, Jerome D, Yeung J.Diagnosis and management of psoriasis.Can Fam Physician. 2017;63(4):278-285.
Armstrong AW.Psoriasis.JAMA Dermatol. 2017;153(9):956. doi:10.1001/jamadermatol.2017.2103
National Psoriasis Foundation.Over-the-counter topicals.
Juzeniene A, Moan J.Beneficial effects of UV radiation other than via vitamin D production.Dermatoendocrinol.2012;4(2):109-117. doi:10.4161/derm.20013
American Academy of Dermatology Association.Psoriasis treatment: phototherapy.
Cather JC, Crowley JJ.Use of biologic agents in combination with other therapies for the treatment of psoriasis.Am J Clin Dermatol. 2014;15(6):467-478. doi:10.1007/s40257-014-0097-1
National Psoriasis Foundation.Soriatane (acitretin).
Zerilli T, Ocheretyaner E.Apremilast (Otezla): a new oral treatment for adults with psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis.P T.2015;40(8):495-500.
National Psoriasis Foundation.Biologics.
American Academy of Dermatology Association.Psoriasis treatment: biologics.
National Psoriasis Foundation.Dietary modifications.
Ko SH, Chi CC, Yeh ML, Wang SH, Tsai YS, Hsu MY.Lifestyle changes for treating psoriasis.Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2019;7(7):CD011972. doi:10.1002/14651858.CD011972.pub2
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