Nail psoriasis: causes, symptoms and treatment, drugs and folk remedies

Nail psoriasis is an unpleasant disease that gives a person a lot of inconvenience and discomfort. The patient feels an outcast in society, as he is embarrassed by the ugly appearance of the affected nail plates. Therefore, measures must be taken, and as soon as possible.

What is nail psoriasis and its causes

Psoriasis on the nails of the hands is a type of psoriasis that develops on its own or as a concomitant manifestation of the underlying disease. But even a person unfamiliar with medicine, looking at the affected nail plates, can confidently say what kind of disease it is. Fortunately, this species in its pure form is quite rare.

Due to a malfunction in the body, the nail cells begin to develop and multiply incorrectly. As a result, there is a thickening, and then complete deformation of the nail plates.

It is difficult to treat psoriasis of nails, because until now, doctors cannot indicate the exact causes of this unpleasant disease. But the most likely factors are still considered:

• hormonal disruptions in the body;
• weak immune system function;
• nervous overload and stress;
• metabolic disorders;
• susceptibility to skin diseases;
• individual predisposition.

It is very important for the doctor to determine at least the probable cause, since the treatment technique depends on this. In most cases, a person has a predisposition to such a disease, but some powerful factor provokes its occurrence: trauma, hormonal imbalance, taking certain medications.

Classification

Nail damage is different. The most common classification:

1. Pimpled.A characteristic feature is a thimble-shaped nail plate (with miniature, randomly scattered indentations).
2. Onycholysis. Peeling nails from the fingers with the formation of a yellow border around the circumference. The process is painless, but dirt and dead epidermal cells often accumulate in the formed cavity. Because of this, the nail turns yellow and starts to smell bad.
3. Onychomadez. Similar to the previous one. The process is developing very fast. As a rule, there is no yellow border near the affected plates.
4. Hemorrhage. The presence of hemorrhages under the nails on the fingers or toes.
5. Psoriatic onychodystrophy - pathological changes in the structure, shape and shade of the plates due to trophic lesions.

There are many other varieties, however, all these names do not say anything to the average person. Only a specialist with sufficient experience can distinguish them.

Symptoms and chronic manifestations of the disease

Psoriasis of nails on the legs and arms looks like this:

• shade change;
• the formation of grooves and indentations;
• the presence of spots or dots;
• increased fragility;
• peeling.

The severity of symptoms depends on the specific stage and type of the disease. A person does not notice any pain or special physical discomfort. Of course, when performing various works, peeling nails can cause unpleasant physical sensations, but this is not critical. But with the advanced stage, inflammation can occur, due to which the skin begins to peel and itch, and pus with an unpleasant odor gathers under the nail.

This disease gives more moral experience, as the patient feels uncomfortable among people and is shy of such a lack. The attitude of society contributes a lot to this: many think that the disease is contagious, and begin to avoid such a person. In fact, this disease is not contagious and does not pose any danger to people around.

Diagnosis of nail psoriasis

The diagnosis is made after a history, visual examination and clinical studies. The last item, as a rule, includes a scraping smear from the nail plate. In very rare cases, a histological examination is prescribed.

Treatment

Treatment of nail psoriasis is impossible without observing all the requirements of a doctor. This is a long and difficult process, so the patient needs to be patient, follow a diet, carefully monitor the hygiene of the affected areas, strengthen the immune system.

Drug treatment

In the early stages, a variety of gels and ointments for external use are most often prescribed (Advanta, Oxycort, Dermazolone).

At later stages, it is also necessary to take immunomodulating and antiallergic drugs. Often you have to take hormonal drugs. Also, the patient is often recommended to drink vitamin and mineral complexes to strengthen immunity and improve overall health.
If conservative therapy is ineffective, the patient may be shown to undergo surgery to remove the nail plate.

Folk remedies

At home, to relieve the condition, you can also use traditional medicine. It is very useful to make baths with decoctions of medicinal plants. In this case, the main thing is consistency and regularity.

Good results at the beginning of the disease are obtained by applying vegetable oils, which prevent drying of the skin around the nails and provide them with proper nutrition and hydration.
Folk recipe for egg oil:

1. Take 5 fresh eggs and boil them.
2. Squirrels can be eaten. Grind the yolks and simmer in a pan for ¾ hour without oil.
3. Pour mixture into gauze and squeeze.
4. Lubricate affected nails and the skin around them with the resulting oil.

It is also recommended to follow a diet. It is necessary to focus on products with alkaline compounds. It is advisable to exclude milk, citruses, nuts, nightshade group vegetables, coffee and strong tea from the menu. Good results are given by ingestion of laurel decoction. About 2 dozen leaves need to be poured with water and cook for a quarter of an hour. Consume 3 tbsp. lbefore meals three times a day. Duration of admission is 1 week, then a 3-day break is required.

Physiotherapeutic procedures

Properly performed physiotherapy can show good results. Ultraviolet irradiation is most often used: it helps to slow down the growth and excessive division of cells in the affected nail plates. Recently, laser therapy has been particularly popular, showing excellent results in the early stages.

Possible complications and consequences

If you do not pay attention to pathology, the process can be complicated by various unpleasant consequences. The most common complication is arthritis (inflammation of the joints). Also, accession of secondary infections is often observed, which penetrate through skin lesions, scratches and scratches.

With the timely start of treatment, psoriasis is quite easy. In such cases, the main problem becomes the social adaptation of a sick person, as others, due to the unsightly appearance of the affected nails, begin to treat him with caution and neglect. Therefore, depression and low self-esteem almost always accompany this disease.

The prospect of a full recovery in the near future is impossible. The disease is characterized by a chronic course, so lull periods alternate with exacerbations. But the use of special drugs helps to improve the quality of life and not particularly suffer due to this pathological deficiency.

Prevention

In order to prevent the onset or progression of an existing disease, you must carefully follow the rules of hygiene:

1. Trim your nails briefly to prevent injuries. Refuse manicure both home and salon.
2. To minimize the risk of causing even minimal damage, shock and microtrauma.
3. When performing household, street and homework, use gloves.
4. Do not forget about applying a cream to the skin around the nails.

It is also often recommended to additionally protect the nail plates with the help of a special therapeutic varnish.

A healthy lifestyle can not only prevent the development of psoriasis, but also many other diseases. Rule one is to give up bad habits. Rule two is to minimize stress. It is because of nervous overstrain and emotional overload that many diseases arise. Therefore, even in the most difficult situations you should not be nervous, this can only harm yourself, the problem itself will not disappear from this.