A significant new study is helping dispel the uncertainty surrounding psoriasis and its potential impact on COVID-19 outcomes. Contrary to some earlier speculations, the data, published in the journal Dermatology Times, reveals that psoriasis does not pose an elevated risk or worsen the severity of COVID-19 for survivors.
In a podcast, Dermatology Times editorial board member Mark G. Lebwohl, MD from Mount Sinai in New York, said those with psoriasis should not worry about the disease making them more likely to catch COVID-19.
Read MorePeople With Psoriasis Have More Options
8 million Americans suffer with psoriasis. The condition is largely chronic driven. Treatments can offer relief from flareups or may get rid of your symptoms completely. But there's no cure and some approaches may bring on serious side effects. That's why choosing the most effective and safest course will be an important collaboration between you and your healthcare provider. Keep in mind that it may take time to find the best treatment for your psoriasis.Treatment Decision Making
"When I see a psoriasis patient, I first determine the extent of their condition. If it's fairly localized, I'm able to treat the patient with topical therapy by itself," says Dr. Linda Stein Gold, Director of Clinical Research in the Department of Dermatology at Henry Ford Health in Detroit. "But if they have a more widespread condition, topicals alone are not practical.""They will need a systemic agent which is a treatment that works throughout the body," she continues. "I also try to understand initially if they have psoriatic arthritis. If so, then a systemic or biological agent will be necessary. Sometimes patients will have psoriasis in sensitive areas like their scalp, groin, fingernails, hands and feet. It may be a limited area, but it can still have a major effect on their overall quality of life. In that case, I might prescribe a systemic agent more quickly," adds Dr. Stein Gold.
Information on how to make a decision on Psoriasis treatment can be found here:
Lee Ann Rimes’ Remarkable Psoriasis Reversal
Singer LeAnn Rimes, 40, serves as an excellent example of how things can look when you find the right treatments.
It's unclear exactly what treatments Rimes is or isn't using right now, but we know she's tried many different options over the years. Making her diet and overall health a priority and identifying triggers for her symptoms were a big part of what helped her manage flare-ups, according to an interview with the National Psoriasis Foundation (NPF), but we know she's also found injections that have worked for her.
Rimes hasn't explicitly said which types of injections she's used for psoriasis.
LeAnn Rimes' Psoriasis Journey
LeAnn Rimes was diagnosed with psoriasis earlier than most at age 2. By the time she was six, about 80 percent of Rimes' body was covered in painful red spots, according to an article she wrote for Glamour.
Rimes did everything she could to hide her condition from the world and find treatment that worked. Eventually, she discovered an injectable treatment in her 20s that kept her skin clear, but the stress of the COVID-19 pandemic brought her symptoms to the surface again.
"All hell broke loose in the worldand inside of me, as I'm sure it did for so many other people amid this pandemic," she wrote. "Stress is a common trigger for psoriasis, and with so much uncertainty happening, my flare-ups came right back."
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