Psoriasis

Kurtosis

Mod note

I'll respond here, if you have further queries about modding, please take it to PM to keep the thread on topic.

It's a boards rule that medical advice is not permitted. Sharing your experiences or information is welcome but telling other posters what to do is not e.g.

Gael23 wrote: »

You should never put Dovobet on your face. Get Protopic 0.1% from your GP

Clampdown wrote: »

You should stop immediately.

Even if well intentioned or potentially appropriate, no one here is qualified nor aware of other posters' clinical and individual characteristics to offer advice on medical management.

If this requires further clarification, please PM me.

ush

Regarding steroid creams on face. I know a lady who used over-the-counter steroid creams on eczema. She now has a permanent whiskey nose. Be careful out there.

burnsey1987

I'm looking to try UV light therapy for ongoing psoriasis on my right leg. How do I go about that? Would a dermatologist at a hospital have a UV lamp? If so then can I just go to a walk-in clinic and tell the doctor there to write a referral?

fionny

burnsey1987 wrote: »

I'm looking to try UV light therapy for ongoing psoriasis on my right leg. How do I go about that? Would a dermatologist at a hospital have a UV lamp? If so then can I just go to a walk-in clinic and tell the doctor there to write a referral?

There is ferocious waiting lists for this in the Public service... I got myself referred to a private dermotologist thinking I wanted the light therapy... he suggested as it was coming into summer he wouldnt do it... also as it was only only limbs he wouldnt want to do it either... the consultancy was the greatest waste of money from my point of view.

EDIT: To answer your question though yes you can ask your doctor to refer you to a public or private dermo and it will go from there.

You can buy UV lamps online for fair enough money and read up on how to do it yourself but you have to be careful
*not recommending skipping a doctor.

Have you tried Dithrocream yet?

burnsey1987

fionny wrote: »

There is ferocious waiting lists for this in the Public service... I got myself referred to a private dermotologist thinking I wanted the light therapy... he suggested as it was coming into summer he wouldnt do it... also as it was only only limbs he wouldnt want to do it either... the consultancy was the greatest waste of money from my point of view.

EDIT: To answer your question though yes you can ask your doctor to refer you to a public or private dermo and it will go from there.

You can buy UV lamps online for fair enough money and read up on how to do it yourself but you have to be careful
*not recommending skipping a doctor.

Have you tried Dithrocream yet?

I have tried it, only made it much worse. I don't actually have a doctor. Could I just get a referral to a private dermatologist? I have insurance

fionny

burnsey1987 wrote: »

fionny wrote: »

There is ferocious waiting lists for this in the Public service... I got myself referred to a private dermotologist thinking I wanted the light therapy... he suggested as it was coming into summer he wouldnt do it... also as it was only only limbs he wouldnt want to do it either... the consultancy was the greatest waste of money from my point of view.

EDIT: To answer your question though yes you can ask your doctor to refer you to a public or private dermo and it will go from there.

You can buy UV lamps online for fair enough money and read up on how to do it yourself but you have to be careful
*not recommending skipping a doctor.

Have you tried Dithrocream yet?

I have tried it, only made it much worse. I don't actually have a doctor. Could I just get a referral to a private dermatologist? I have insurance

Often does get worse before better but a regular doctor could assess it if you had one so id suggest finding a GP you like.

But yes a doctor can create a referral to private consultant for you... you MIGHT also be able to just make a booking yourself (im not sure on this) I have health insurance also but make sure you find out if your policy will cover the lightbox treatment if you go down that road.

Personally I bought a lamp and use it myself from time to time as the thought of having to attend a clinic multiple times over didnt appeal to me... as I said also the consultant didnt actually want me to do it as it was only on arms and legs and said normally they wont do it for people with that level of psorasis.

rubadub

burnsey1987 wrote: »

I'm looking to try UV light therapy for ongoing psoriasis on my right leg. How do I go about that? Would a dermatologist at a hospital have a UV lamp?

Not sure if people are sent for UV therapy with only small areas.

I have a small lamp myself and found it worked great.

burnsey1987

fionny wrote: »

Often does get worse before better but a regular doctor could assess it if you had one so id suggest finding a GP you like.



But yes a doctor can create a referral to private consultant for you... you MIGHT also be able to just make a booking yourself (im not sure on this) I have health insurance also but make sure you find out if your policy will cover the lightbox treatment if you go down that road.



Personally I bought a lamp and use it myself from time to time as the thought of having to attend a clinic multiple times over didnt appeal to me... as I said also the consultant didnt actually want me to do it as it was only on arms and legs and said normally they wont do it for people with that level of psorasis.

That may be the case but I won't be using it again. I don't like the idea of having a regular doctor. Which is why I'd prefer to just visit on walk-in clinic on a once off basis for something very specific.

If I could refer myself I would. I will look into private practices to see if they have anyone on the staff who specialise in skin conditions.

I know UV lamps can be bought easily, but it's the voltage, current, nanometers and so on that I'd need to know before I can find the one I will need

rubadub

burnsey1987 wrote: »

I know UV lamps can be bought easily, but it's the voltage, current, nanometers and so on that I'd need to know before I can find the one I will need

You are not making one (I actually did make mine!), you buy an off the shelf model. The small ones all use the same 9W phillips bulb. There are 2 types, but almost invariably people are using the narrowband one 311nm.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Dermalight-Comb-Psoriasis-Treatment-Medically-Certified/dp/B0069RLGM4/ref=sr_1_1_a_it?ie=UTF8&qid=1487764471&sr=8-1&keywords=dermalight

You will find lots of small models with slight differences, but 95%+ will be using the narrowband 9W phillips bulb. I just bought the bulb from a reputable place and put it in my own light fixture.

shootermacg

I followed Rub's suggestion and bought the hand held light, it's fine if you have one or two small problem areas, but I have have about 15 areas and it gets totally time consuming having to hold a light to these areas for the time needed.

Saying that, nothing at all works for me on certain areas, elbows, legs and hands/fingers mainly.

My scalp has been bad since forever, I used to get a scalp treatment before going to the barbers, mostly out of embarrassment. I get it in my ears, around my ears, face, all over my scalp, elbows, navel, torso, back, chest, legs, hands, upper and lower legs.

My scalp was my main issue, constant dandruff, I used to use a fine comb just to get rid of as much as possible. Someone advised Nizoral a few posts back, for which I will be forever grateful! My dandruff seems to be a lot lighter since, which is brilliant news!

I've only used Dovabet, so I'm open to any alternative suggestions. My doctor just gives me whatever I tell him to, never suggests anything himself.

Gael23

I saw professor Kirby privately but I had to go through the public system for the phototherapy. I think I was waiting about 2 months.
My GP is the same with prescriptions, he knows I've tried everything and I know what works for me and what doesn't.

Lady is a tramp

Yeah I find doctors will usually respect your requests when it comes to the prescriptions or treatment you want, and will give them to you without much discussion. They know what a complete pain-in-the-arse condition it is, and respect the fact that you know your own skin and how to manage it better than anyone else.

I've had the phototherapy twice (three times a week for approx two months each time), once as a private patient in Sligo General Hospital, the second time privately in Blackrock Clinic. I find diet makes a big difference in the effectiveness of phototherapy ... if I was getting it done again I'd make an effort to cut down or cut out things like gluten, caffeine, refined sugars, alcohol, citrus fruits, nightshades etc which are said to worsen the condition - and to eat more of healthy oils and fats, avocados, berries, leafy green veg etc. I aim for that anyways, but would probably try to be much stricter with myself in the hope that the diet in conjunction with the phototherapy would make an even bigger difference.

Gael23

I had a particularly good GP some years ago and he was the only one who I ever felt held back on medication. He changed most of my ointments which I was using at the time to the lowest dose which didn't always work, but when he saw it didn't there was never an issue. Having said that he was the one GP I ever went to that looked outside the box and put me on the road to where I am now which has been life changing.

siblers

Have any people used Dermalex? I see Boots are selling it but don't want to waste €20 if it's just another moisturising cream

witchgirl26

Anyone with scalp psoriasis - I've been using the Philip Kingsley shampoo for itchy/flaky scalp for the past month & the difference is amazing. It's very gentle but with a lovely apple smell. My hairdresser even commented how there are no scaly patches on my scalp at all at the moment & the dandruff part has almost completely gone. It's available in M&S. I tried out the travel size before investing in the bigger bottle.

ZeitgeistGlee

witchgirl26 wrote: »

Anyone with scalp psoriasis - I've been using the Philip Kingsley shampoo for itchy/flaky scalp for the past month & the difference is amazing. It's very gentle but with a lovely apple smell. My hairdresser even commented how there are no scaly patches on my scalp at all at the moment & the dandruff part has almost completely gone. It's available in M&S. I tried out the travel size before investing in the bigger bottle.

Might try it, my scalp's been giving me hell lately.

brevity

siblers wrote: »

Have any people used Dermalex? I see Boots are selling it but don't want to waste €20 if it's just another moisturising cream

It's like all the others tbh.

rubadub

siblers wrote: »

Have any people used Dermalex? I see Boots are selling it but don't want to waste €20 if it's just another moisturising cream

http://healthydoseofskepticism.blogspot.ie/2013/05/dermalex-superficial-skin-miracle.html


http://www.expresschemist.co.uk/dermalex-repair-psoriasis-cream-60-g.html#.WLbN2G-LSUk

Ingredients:
Purified Water, Modified Alumino-Silicates, White Petrolatum, Cetearyl Alcohol, Paraffinum Liquidum, Polysorbatum 60, Ethyl Alcohol, Methyl 4-Hydroxybenzoate.

ZeitgeistGlee

Hi all,

Wondering if anyone has any experience with/could recommend a good air-filter? I find myself vacuuming every day just to try to keep on top of my scalp flaking.

michellie

witchgirl26 wrote: »

Anyone with scalp psoriasis - I've been using the Philip Kingsley shampoo for itchy/flaky scalp for the past month & the difference is amazing. It's very gentle but with a lovely apple smell. My hairdresser even commented how there are no scaly patches on my scalp at all at the moment & the dandruff part has almost completely gone. It's available in M&S. I tried out the travel size before investing in the bigger bottle.

thank you! My scalp is very bad at the moment. Going to see if I can get this anywhere else.

witchgirl26

michellie wrote: »

thank you! My scalp is very bad at the moment. Going to see if I can get this anywhere else.

I could only find it in M&S in store but it's also available on Look Fantastic website as well as the M&S website. The difference it's made to me is amazing. I no longer want to scratch my scalp off!

rubadub

I talked before about how new patches can appear when old ones are "cured"/treated.

My theory was that you had "toxins" that had to find a way out somehow, so it would be like patching a leaky pipe in a house and it still being under pressure so springing a leak elsewhere.

I was talking about the idea of deliberately not treating patches which are in unseen areas or generally areas which do not bother you much. Then treating the most undesirable patches in the hope the "toxins" make it out of the others, without the risk of new ones springing up in new undesirable areas.

Has anybody read about anything like this, or is there a term for it?

Mountainsandh

Whack-a-mole ?

I know what you're saying, and I really wish it might be true, but I don't think it works that way.

Audioslaven

Hi,

Just wondering has anyone get a UV-B lamp that they use at home. If so how did you find it and where did you get if from


Audioslaven

rizzee

Anyone tried out Moogoo products? Finished my light treatment around May 2016 and have been blessed this time round to only have a little bit come back behind ears and one or two dots on chest. Picked up one of their creams for about 15 Euro last week. Haven't seen much change so far

Gael23

rizzee wrote: »

Anyone tried out Moogoo products? Finished my light treatment around May 2016 and have been blessed this time round to only have a little bit come back behind ears and one or two dots on chest. Picked up one of their creams for about 15 Euro last week. Haven't seen much change so far

It helps a little but it's very expensive. I couldn't use the amount I needed because of the cost so didn't really get a benefit.

Call Me Jimmy

rizzee wrote: »

Anyone tried out Moogoo products? Finished my light treatment around May 2016 and have been blessed this time round to only have a little bit come back behind ears and one or two dots on chest. Picked up one of their creams for about 15 Euro last week. Haven't seen much change so far

It was a good while ago but I remember it having no effect, like neither negative or positive.

shootermacg

Call Me Jimmy wrote: »

It was a good while ago but I remember it having no effect, like neither negative or positive.

That's my experience, neither good nor bad, no beneficial effect.

adocholiday

I've been using the Moogoo Irritable Skin Balm for a while now for the skin around my ears and on my nose. I found it made a significant improvement in both the appearance and the feel of my skin, but I need to use it twice a day for maximum results. Missing even one application I'd see some of the scaly skin and redness coming back. The other thing for me is that I'm not convinced my GP really knew enough when he diagnosed psoriasis (could be Seborrheic Dermatitis) so that could be a factor too.

I'm lucky in that my skin is only bad around my ears and nose, so a tube of it goes quite a long way. It would get expensive if you have more coverage. I just like it because it's completely natural. I dislike steroids and other similar medicated creams so I'm willing to put up with the extra hassle for that. I can see why many wouldn't like it though.

wonga77

Yeah the Moogoo had zero effect for me, creams anyway. Shampoo made my scalp drier and much worse