Toronto-Centre Naturopathic Medicine is a Toronto naturopathic clinic dedicated to providing safe and effective treatment of a wide variety of health conditions using natural therapies and the principles of naturopathic medicine.
Psoriasis is well treated using naturopathic medicine. Psoriasis is a skin condition in improper immune system functioning causes skin cells build up more quickly than is considered normal, resulting in patches of thickened skin. It is unclear what causes this immune system malfunction, but possible triggers include infections, skin injuries, stress or exposure to tobacco, alcohol or certain medications.
There are several types of psoriasis, including plaque psoriasis (the most common type), guttate psoriasis, pustular psoriasis, nail psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis. Psoriasis is a chronic condition that may feature periods of flare up and remission. Psoriasis is generally not more than a nuisance, but may be associated with arthritis, and if so professional healthcare should be sought out.
Symptoms of psoriasis
Possible symptoms of psoriasis include:
• Red patches of skin with silvery scales
• Small, scaling skin spots
• Dry, cracked skin
• Thickened, pitted nails
• Joint pain and swelling
Treatment of psoriasis at Toronto-Centre Naturopathic Medicine
There is no known cure for psoriasis. At Toronto-Centre Naturopathic Medicine, the goals of psoriasis treatment are minimizing skin plaque formation and episode recurrence, and managing pain of associated arthritis.
Conventional treatment for psoriasis may include light therapy, or a variety of medications, including topical corticosteroids, retinoids or anthralin; methotrexate; azathioprine; or immunomodulating drugs which may have short- or long-term side effects. For this reason, you may choose to try natural treatment to possibly avoid use of conventional medications, or together with conventional medications in order to decrease dosages of conventional medications required to manage your psoriasis symptoms.
Naturopathic treatment of any chronic health concern must be recognized as a process that involves identifying specific treatment goals, a thorough understanding by your naturopathic doctor of all factors affecting your health, including physical, psychological, emotional and lifestyle factors, development of a comprehensive treatment plan and execution of that plan through periodic monitoring and adjustment.
At Toronto-Centre Naturopathic Medicine a typical approach to treating psoriasis may be to first identify and address underlying factors in your lifestyle (e.g., stress, obesity, hygiene, smoking, excessive alcohol consumption, use of certain medications, lack of sun exposure) that may be contributing to psoriasis frequency and limit severity of symptoms using acupuncture.
Where appropriate, a number of therapeutic options are available, to be used alone, or more often in a complementary fashion, including:
• Cleansing protocols
• Homotoxicological medicines
• Nutritional supplements
• Botanical (herbal) medicines
• Homeopathic medicines
• Acupuncture
• Diet therapy
• Lifestyle counseling
• Relaxation techniques
References
Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research. Psoriasis. [Online]. [cited 18 Feb 2009] Available at: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/psoriasis/DS00193 .