Before you decide to go through laser treatment for psoriasis, it is important to know about the causes of this disease, symptoms and other treatments available. This knowledge will educate you to fight this problem, positively. Psoriasis is a disease that affects the skin and joints. It causes red scaly patches on the skin called psoriatic plaques. It mainly occurs on elbows and knees, but it can affect any area of the body.
Causes, Symptoms, Categories Of Psoriasis
It is believed that Psoriasis is a genetic disease. It occurs due to excessive growth and reproduction of skin cells. However, some of the factors that aggravate this disorder are stress, excessive consumption of alcohol and smoking.It is found in both the sexes- males and females. However, it is not contagious. There is no special test that can diagnose this disease. A patient comes to know about the disease when patches start appearing on the skin.
This disease can be divided into three categories, mild, moderate and severe. There are many scales available to measure the degree of severity. For your information, the severity is measured based on following factors:
• Proportion of body surface area affected
• Degree of plaque redness, thickness and scaling
• Response to previous therapies
• What is the impact of the disease on the person?
Treatments Available For Psoriasis
The treatment of Psoriasis depends on many factors, such as its type, location, extent, severity, patient’s age, sex, overall attitude, etc. Laser treatment for psoriasis is one of the many treatments available for the disease. Generally, doctors start treating Psoriasis with milder ointments or creams. This is called topical treatment. If this treatment does not show any positive result, then phototherapy is used. In this, the affected skin patches are exposed to UV radiations. Through this technique, even the smallest spots of Psoriasis can be treated without any difficulty.
The instrument, which is used to produce UV radiations, is called as Excimer Laser. It can produce a highly effective UV light at a wavelength of 308nm. Laser treatment for Psoriasis eliminates the selective blood vessels that support the growth of the psoriatic plaque. With the removal of these vessels, the growth of the plaque slows down significantly or discontinues.
It is an effective way to treat mild and moderate Psoriasis. The results of laser treatment for Psoriasis start showing in 3-4 weeks. However, doctors recommend that the treatment should continue for 5-6 months.
Treatment Process
It is a two step long, simple process-
1. The doctor will prescribe a lotion, which you must apply on the area to be treated. This application should start a week prior to the therapy.
2. On the day of surgery, your physician will apply a special fluid to the designated area. This will enhance receptivity to the laser. After that the physician will treat the affected areas with the laser. A typical four-inch square area will require several minutes.
This treatment involves slight discomfort. Otherwise, it has no side effects. Laser treatment for Psoriasis is a safe and effective way of treating this disease.