Technorati Profile

Psoriasis Awareness Efforts Launched For General Public

A nonprofit advocacy group such as Psoriasis Cure Now (PCN) in Washington, has launched an educational effort that targets a greater understanding of the public of the disease that has been taken for granted by the general public. 

With Short Sleeve Day on September 15, 2007, when musicians with psoriasis headlined a combination of awareness events, fundraisers and parties in four US cities.

President of PCN, Michael Paranzino, wants to see a greater participation and felt that there was a success in the launch.  San Francisco, Chicago, Salt Lake City, and Washington has been tested waters and the group is shooting to take the event next year in 20 cities.

Psoriasis still tends to be a punch line relative to other diseases that are taken more seriously for in the previous years things have not worked in some sense, says Michael Paranzino, PCN president.

Hoping to attract films, the group can use as part of its education outreach, the organization has also launched a video contest. The entries have reached to a number of 30 videos.

Though Paranzino said they were hoping to grow to a size that would necessitate agency help, all communications outreach is handled in-house.

Eczema National Awareness Week For All

Today marks the beginning of National Eczema Week, which aims to raise awareness of the significant impact of eczema has on people’s everyday lives, especially children.

For the past 20 years and today, eczema has been on the increase and have been affecting one in five children of school age and one in 12 adults.

In the survery of a British Skin Foundation, dermatologists have have noticed a 27% increase in child eczema over the last year alone.

It is shown in the statistics that 52% of the children’s carers, felt that they have no control over the condition of the child and 23% never get a good-night sleep.

Eczema can cause emotional suffering as well as physical to children, a spokesperson for the British Skin Foundation said.  He added that  a child can get affected, especially its self-esteem, and can lead to tiredness and irritability due to insufficient sleep because of the condition, which can have a great impact on the child’s quality of life.

On the whole family, eczema can also have a huge effect.

To raise money for research into childhood eczema, is the hope of the British Skin Foundation’s Childhood Eczema Fund.

Certain Shades Of Hope And More For Psoriasis Sufferers

To reduce the severity and the extent of psoriasis is the object of the treatment. Psoriasis refers to the red, scaly stigmata, and the tell-tale scaling on one’s clothes, the rough cracked palms that make handshakes awkward, painful joints that can hinder individuals to perform limited activities.

The bottomline is that the goal of the treatment is to improve the quality of life of psoriasis sufferers which has shown to be as affected as much as other major diseases such as cancer, heart disease and depression. Much can be done to allow the sufferer to enhance the quality of life with the good news brought by today’s medical armamentarium.

There is considerable optimism in the quest in searching for best and  safest psoriasis treatment in the near future. We now have a much better understanding of the genetics and underlying immune derangement in psoriasis.

It is only a matter of time before the tremendous amount of ongoing research bears better fruit that is sweeter and without the bitter aftertaste of side-effects. Indeed there are promising smaller molecules in the offing that are cheaper to synthesise.

Healthy Skin May Brewed By Green Tea

According to a U.S study, green tea may hold promise as a new treatment for psoriasis and other inflammatory skin conditions, including dandruff and lupus-related skin lesions.

Green tea slowed the growth of skin cells in rodents genetically predisposed to psoriasis found by researchers Medical College of Georgia.

"An autoimmune disease called psoriasis can cause the skin to become thicker due to the out-of-control-growth of skin cells, " lead investigator Dr. Stephen Hsu, an oral biologist in the MCG School of Dentistry, explained in a statement. "Immune cells in psoriasis, which usually protect against infection, instead trigger the release of cytokines, the one that causes inflammation and the skin cell overproduction."

Green tea helps suppress inflammation shown in the previous research.

Hsu and his colleagues suggested green tea aids in treating psoriasis and other inflammatory skin diseases by regulating the expression of Caspase-14, a protein in genes that regulates the skin cells life cycle.

"That marker guides cells by telling them when to differentiate, die off and form a skin barrier. The process is interrupted in people with psoriasis,  and the skin cells don’t die before more are created and the resulting lesions form," Hsu said.

The Role Of Heredity In Passing Eczema From One Generation To Another

When parents have eczema when they were young, they should always pay close attention when their child start to itch, for he or she may also develop the condition.

Children are commonly affected by eczema, this condition makes the skin dry and itchy.  This also refers to atopic dermatitis. Atopic refers to the development of an allergy, and dermatitis means the inflammation of the skin, making the skin red or sore.

In children with eczema, family history can play a huge role.  By the time they’re in school, many children can fortunately outgrow the itchy condition.

Eczema causes certain cells in the skin to become sensitive to some substances or chemicals. When the skin comes into contact with an substance that are irritating, these cells overreact, causing the skin to become red, sore and itchy.

Eczema can be commonly triggered by soaps, detergents or perfumes, heat and sweat, dry winter air, wool, other scratchy fabrics, and bedsheets that have dust mites.

Eczema itching can be lessen by few known ways:  try to place a cool washcloth over the skin in a spot where there is particular painful itches.  Then after removing the washcloth, it is best to apply an ointment to keep the skin from drying out.  Remember that hot water and long baths or showers can make the skin drier and itchier. That is why encourage your child to take short baths or showers in warm water only. Before going to bed and after bath, moisturize the skin of your child by using hypoallergenic skin care products. Help your child hydrate their skin by drinking plenty of water.  And use only cotton and soft fabrics in dressing your child.