Our friends over at WebMD have just published an article entitled ‘Ten Ways To Prevent Psoriasis Flare Ups’. Here’s the list:
- Use moisturizing lotions.
- Take care of your skin and scalp.
- Avoid dry, cold weather.
- Use a humidifier.
- Avoid medications that cause flare-ups. Drugs that are known to make psoriasis worse in some people include:
Lithium, used to treat psychiatric disorders
Propranalol and possibly other beta-blockers, which are prescribed for heart conditions
Cardioquin or Quinidex, medications for heart arrhythmias
If you’re using any of these medications, ask your doctor about substitutes. - Avoid scrapes, cuts, bumps, and infections.
- Get some sun, but not too much.
- Decrease stress.
- Reduce Alcohol Intake
- Exercise, eat right, and maintain a healthy weight.
Well, we think that may just rank for the most useless, unhelpful help advice of the year! Let’s take a closer look:
- Use moisturizing lotions.
Really? Moisturizing lotions and creams may help keep the skin moist but do they – can they – by themselves prevent flare ups? Highly questionable to say the least! - Take care of your skin and scalp.
What are you actually trying to say here? People with scalp flare ups don’t look after their scalp properly? - Avoid dry, cold weather.
Great advice for people during the winter months! Go live in sunnier climes! We can’t believe we didn’t think of that! - Use a humidifier.
Finally something practical! But how much of an effect will prevent or minimise a flare-up following an infection? We doubt it! - Avoid medications that cause flare-ups. Drugs that are known to make psoriasis worse in some people include:
Lithium, used to treat psychiatric disorders
Propranalol and possibly other beta-blockers, which are prescribed for heart conditions
Cardioquin or Quinidex, medications for heart arrhythmias
If you’re using any of these medications, ask your doctor about substitutes.Vaguely useful advice if you’re happen to take these medications but as for the 99% of the rest of us, not really life-changing! - Avoid scrapes, cuts, bumps, and infections.
Yes, scrapes and cuts can evolve into psoriasis lesions but aren’t we supposed to be talking about ‘flare-ups’ here? - Get some sun, but not too much.
Sunlight – now that’s groundbreaking news – not! And from where are we supposed to ‘get some sun’ in the winter months? - Decrease stress.
Come on – someone must be having a laugh now! How do they suggest we decrease stress? ‘Practice relaxation techniques or give yoga a try’! - Reduce Alcohol Intake
OK. But again no specifics and the writer even says that ‘the connection between psoriasis and alcohol isn’t clear’! - Exercise, eat right, and maintain a healthy weight.
The article says:
‘Although no studies have shown a connection between diet and psoriasis , experts recommend that people with the condition should eat a well-balanced diet, high in fruits and vegetables. Some people report that psoriasis symptoms improve when they eliminate dairy or gluten from their diets. Exercise may also help, and will improve your mood. In some cases, excess weight can worsen psoriasis symptoms, so maintaining a healthy weight may help prevent flare-ups.’Who are they kidding!? There are hundreds of clinical trials about specific food groups including gluten, animal fats, essential fatty acids to name but a few. And, in this day and age, is ‘exercise may help’ the best advice the article writer can come up with!All-in-all, probably the most useless piece of advice ever written for Psoriasis sufferers but if you want to take a closer look – visit WebMD
