Skin diseases always bring a lot of inconvenience to the patient. Not to mention physical torment, even if they are not pronounced clearly, any skin diseases cause severe discomfort in terms of a person’s communication with people around him. And such chronic diseases as psoriasis, which is simply impossible to cure to the end, are often aggravated by the fact that the localization of the affected areas is located in the most “uncomfortable” places, for example, on the palms or soles of the feet. Moreover, it is plantar psoriasis , the characteristic signs of which we will talk about in this article, that becomes the greatest problem for patients suffering from this disease throughout their lives.
Plantar psoriasis symptoms
Approximately one in four patients with some form of psoriasis complains of psoriasis plaques on the palms and soles of the feet. It should be borne in mind that the skin on the soles and palms is much denser and rougher than on other parts of the body, it is much more susceptible to mechanical stress and is much more likely to come into contact with various aggressive chemicals. Consequently, the symptoms of plantar or palmar-plantar psoriasis , as this form of the disease is called more often, differ in some aspects from the general signs of psoriasis.
With this form of the disease, there is a significant thickening of the upper layers of the epidermis. Severe coarsening of the skin (hyperkeratosis) causes the formation of characteristic callus-like seals of a reddish hue, which are sometimes covered with a mesh of small painful cracks. According to these signs, plantar psoriasis is in many ways similar to eczema or mycosis, so for an accurate diagnosis, the patient must undergo a serological examination and make a skin biopsy.
The lesions of psoriasis on the soles are isolated and look like oval or rounded plaques with a shiny scaly surface. On the border, the lesions are surrounded by a ring of denser skin. In the absence of adequate treatment, plaques can grow and join together. Psoriasis plaques clearly stand out against the background of healthy skin with a characteristic pink tint. In some cases, yellow pustules (palmar-plantar pustules) are present in the lesions – formations of a non-infectious nature that do not need additional treatment and soon disappear on their own.
The main symptoms also include excessive dryness, redness and thickening of the skin with many cracks and severe itching. If the acute course of the disease is aggravated by the ingress of a fungus or infection into the skin cracks, an inflammatory process begins in the affected areas, accompanied by pronounced pain sensations with any movement.
Treatment methods
First of all, local therapy is used to treat palmar-plantar psoriasis. That is, glucocorticoid ointments help to relieve the symptoms of the disease, which make it possible to achieve a quick and significant reduction in the external symptoms of psoriasis, pharmacy talkers, skin softening creams, compresses from infusions of medicinal herbs. For plantar psoriasis, a hydrocolloid coating is used, which promotes the speedy healing of sores and cracks in the skin, helps to reduce itching and significantly reduces the friction of the foot on socks and shoes.
If local treatment of plantar psoriasis is not enough, then it is necessary to resort to complex therapy, which includes a number of measures aimed at eliminating the main causes of the disease, as well as physiotherapy and preventive procedures that consolidate the achieved result. Systemic treatment includes the use of retinoids, cytostatics, probiotics, D vitamins, ultraviolet radiation sessions, etc.
Prevention of exacerbations involves adherence to a special diet, exclusion of frequent contact with water, adherence to the rules of personal hygiene, a properly planned daily regimen and much more.
Plantar psoriasis, like other types of this disease, is characterized by temporary remissions and periodic relapses. The disease is exclusively chronic in nature, cannot be completely cured, and in the absence of a proper course of therapeutic measures, it can cause the patient’s disability.