People with extensive psoriasis tend to suffer stoically and are often unwilling to bare their body in public - swimming pools and beaches are of limits for some because of embarrassment about the skin lesions which do look rather menacing to onlookers who are not familiar with the disease. Swimming in salt water and sun exposure is often helpful, however, and Ultraviolet light treatment has been used as a standard therapy. For years people have been treated with coal tar baths followed by ultraviolet light exposure with benefits. Now, of course, we are warning people against ultraviolet light exposure and have concerns about the carcinogenic potential of coal tar. The most common form, Psoriasis vulgaris , occurs as chronic scaling papules and plaques in the scalp, elbows, forearms, lumbosacral region, knees, hands, and feet.
Evidence suggests that T-lymphocytes lead the attack on the skin.
Although psoriatic plaques tend to be good breeding grounds for bacteria and fungi, there is no proof that infection is the cause of the problem. A good case can be made for food antigens causing psoriasis through a delayed hypersensitivity mechanisms. While this is just a theory, its better than no therapy at all and can lead to a immediate therapeutic experiment. Psoriasis responds variably to Diet Revision Therapy. In several remarkable cases, remission of psoriatic arthritis with clearing of the skin lesions has been achieved, albeit with some difficulty after several months, by rigorous application of the Alpha Nutrition Program.