Some patients might use only one type of therapy, while others could use a combination.
It depends on the individual and what works for them.
The various type of treatment used depends on many factors; the treatments prescribed for individual to the patient-- working for some but notfor all.
Occasionally discovering the right treatment is a process of trial and error.
There are many options for psoriasis treatment and psoriasis experts are working on waysfor doctors to be able to diagnose, categorize and prescribe a Psoriasis Treatmentbased on its type and condition.
The four main categories of Psoriasis Treatment are: .
topical treatment .
phototherapy .
systemic therapy .
biologics From research undertaken in the USA and Canada to categorize common treatments this is what they came up with.
This is their list of factors that doctors and patients can undertake before starting a specific treatment.
Factors that could influence the effectiveness of a particular treatment could include: Psoriasis Treatment .
Psoriasis Treatment type of psoriasis (e.
g.
, chronic plaque-type versus pustular psoriasis) .
extent of disease (e.
g.
, localized versus widespread) .
area affected (e.
g.
, hands or feet can be disabled and require more aggressive therapy) .
location (e.
g.
, more sensitive areas--groin or armpits--may require different treatments) Patient-related factors also control which therapy will work best.
These include: .
lifestyle .
occupation .
geographic location (if at a distance from treatment centers, it could be difficult for the patient to receive certain therapies, such as phototherapy) .
other health problems that require medication (certain psoriasis medications might interact with other medications) In the past, experts have classified patients according to the severity of their disease based on the amount or extent of psoriasis.
Categories for psoriasis included mild, moderate or severe, depending on how much of the patient's body surface area was affected.
.
If less than 10 percent of the body surface area was involved, the patient was classified as having mild to moderate disease.
.
If more than 10 percent of the body surface area was involved, the patient was classified as having moderate to severe disease.
.
If more than 30 percent of body surface area was affected, a patient was deemed to have severe psoriasis.
This type of classification is not as popular now for several reasons.
Basing the severity of disease on the extent of affected area alone fails to recognize other vital factors that can influence the severity of disease.
For example, factors such as the location of lesions (face, hands or feet), resistance to prior therapies, and the impact on social and emotional health of affected people are very important, as is the impact on their quality of life.
Some of the key aspects that determine quality of life include: .
physical factors, such as the severity of itching, irritation, pain, insomnia or inability to use the hands or feet .
psychological factors, such as the degree of a patient's self-consciousness, embarrassment, frustration, anger, helplessness, depression, stigmatization and anticipation of rejection social impact, such as the fear of going to social functions, shaking hands and wearing certain types of clothing to hide lesions