sorry to hear of the psoriasis. my husband has had it for approximately 7 years about the time i was dx with reumatoid arthritis. he tried every medication and cream there was, but to no avail. he developed psoriatic arthritis and they put him on a injection drug called himura. it was experimental in canada for psoriasis but since then they have approved it. it is the only thing that has worked. he will unfortunately probably be on it forever. i have an appointment with his specialist for my ra but i am pretty sure i can't take it because of the hcv. we'll see in january. sunshine helps a lot as well a salt water oceans. (like we have lots of that!) don't scratch! good luck with it. hopefully it will go away when you are done treating.
Is it just patches? Or like an all over thing?
Yes, I did have the patches of rashy psorasis looking stuff on my face. I have psorasis on my elbow, and it looked like that. It did not itch, just ugly. It went away. Took 3 or 4 weeks.It's happened a few times. I don't know if it is the same as you have of course.
Your not stubborn,................
YOUR ONE TOUGH COOKIE!!!! My hat is off to ya.
I really hope you get some relief from this.
After doing a bit of research I found this"
well known cutaneous side effect of IFN include
(all of which I have big time)
*dry skin
*Pruritus
*Hair loss
*Psoriasis
*Vitiligo (which explains the PEACH FUZZ FACE that I've been complaining about forever!)
Oyk. that's all. Just in case anybody else gets all these things happening to them. Oh yeah - it's very common in people who developed AUTOIMMUNE THYROID CONDITIONS
This is what I have if it happens top anybody else...you'll have a potential cure
Primarily seen in adults, pustular [PUHS-choo-ler] psoriasis is characterized by white pustules (blisters of noninfectious pus) surrounded by red skin. The pus consists of white blood cells. It is not an infection, nor is it contagious. It may be localized to certain areas of the body
You may remember, that psoriasis was one of my most difficult sfx for most of treatment.
I could be mistaken but don't believe there is anything called "autoimmune psoriasis" -- all psoriasis has an autoimmune component, so in that sense it's all "autoimmune".
What happens on treatment is that the Peg does a number on the immune system and if you have any latent tendency at all for psoriasis, it will most probably bring it out. If you already have it, it will make it worse.
Because it's on your face you will have to be *very* careful with any topical steroids that may be suggested as they can actually make things worse in the long term, including thinning of the skin and even steroid rosacea which can be quite unpleasant to say the least.
For this reason, make all efforts to be treated under the guidance of a good dermatologist who will know what topicals are safe and for how long. MDs who are non-dermatologists have a tendency to prescribe steroids that are too strong and for too long with sometimes bad consequences.
One non-steroid approach is topical Elidel, however Elidel is used more in the mainteance stage and not in the acute stage. You should know that Elidel has a black box warning but almost all the derms I consulted with use it on a regular basis, even with young children.
Another reason for seeing derm is to make sure that indeed you have psoraisis. As your doctor has probably told you, psoriasis is not common on the face so indeed it could be any number of skin conditions mimicking psoriasis, again such as seb derm, atopic dermatitis, rosacea, etc.
From personal experience, you may soon start to find that your psoriasis -- if that's what you have -- will soon be "layered" with other skin ailments such as the mentioned. Seborrhoeic Dermatitis, atopic dermatitis, and possibly rosacea. They all run in the same family.
In addition to whatever medications might be prescribed, be very careful using any OTC products, including moisturizes, as they may irritate more than help. I know you favor Gold Bond, but I would avoid that on your face until you speak to a derm.
My regimen was Cetaphil mild cleanser for the face. No soap. And Cetaphil Cream Moisturizer and only during the day. Sometimes less is more and you don't want to clog up the pores or end up setting your skin up for fungal growth which is common with seb derm.
Lastly, keep a watchful eye out as psoriasis (or any of these skin conditions when being treated with interferon) has a tendency to spread quickly.
Hope things resolve soon.
-- Jim