Nail Psoriasis Treatment, Is There Hope?

Did you know, most psoriatic nail disease affects patients with other symptoms of psoriasis?

Nail psoriasis occurs in less than 5% of patients with none of the other symptoms that you usually find in psoriasis sufferers. We will discuss the cause, symptoms, as well as nail psoriasis treatment in this publication.

Nail psoriasis affects about 50-80% of people with active psoriasis. Nail psoriasis is a term used when there are changes in fingernails, toenails, or both caused by psoriasis disease. Approximately half of nail psoriasis sufferers have to discontinue their regular daily schedules because of the pain.

Finger or toe nail changes can occur in one or more nails and can have different levels of damage. You can have damage in the nail itself, the bed or matrix (where it starts). Damage can include; pitting or even losing the nail from the tip down. If you have the pustular type of psoriasis you can lose the nail completely.

These are some of the changes that may occur:

• 'Ice Pick' (pitting or deformity of the nail): This is caused by growth deficiency in the nail bed caused by psoriasis.


• 'Salmon Patch' (Yellow or yellowing-red discoloration of the nail): This is caused by psoriasis in the nail bed. It is also sometimes called "oil drop"' because it looks like a drop of oil that is soaking into the nail.


• 'Onycholysis': Occurring after the oil drop. A white area appears when the nail actually separates from the nail bed.


• Lastly, total loss of the nail. It crumbles and eventually just falls away because psoriasis has weakened the matrix.

Psoriasis of the finger and toenails can resemble other conditions such as chronic fungal infections or inflammation in the nail bed.

What Causes Nail Psoriasis:

Unfortunately 50-80% of psoriasis sufferers will get nail psoriasis. This is often associated with psoriatic arthritis when it is located in your fingers and toes. Even if you don't have the symptoms of arthritis you can still get nail psoriasis, and it can still be embarrassing, because your hands and feet look terrible. Trust me, I know.

As you might already know from reading my other publications, preventative maintenance is the only real way to take care of and prevent all of the terrible symptoms and debilitating aspects of psoriasis.

Remember this not a skin disease it is an autoimmune disease and you have to cure it from the inside out. Wouldn't we all like to have our whole body, psoriasis free, for life?