Psoriasis Types.
There are several forms of psoriasis that have been identified though there is belief that some more remain to be identified. One type of psoriasis can transgress into another type or rarely, it is believed, that a person can suffer from more than one type of psoriasis at one time. Pictures of psoriasis shows the images of the various types of psoriasis. The different kinds of psoriasis are explained below.
Types of Psoriasis.
1) Plaque Psoriasis.
This is the most common kind of psoriasis seen in 90% of psoriatic cases. This is characterized by raised and reddish skin patches or plaques covered with silvery or whitish scales. These plaques are oval or round varying from one centimeter to many centimeters wide. They are itchy and at times painful.
They can occur anywhere on the body including the genitalia and the mucosa inside the mouth, but commonly seen on the elbows, knees and the trunk. Depending on the severity, the plaques may be few or many and in severe cases the skin on the joints may develop cracks which can bleed. If scratched, these plaques become inflamed. This is referred to as the Koebner phenomenon.
2) Guttate Psoriasis.
This is the second most common type of psoriasis and seen primarily in children and young adults below 30 years of age. With reference to its appearance, guttate comes from the latin word gutta which means drop. For this reason, it is also referred to as raindrop psoriasis. The onset of this type of psoriasis is often sudden and usually 2 to 3 weeks after a bout of a streptococcal throat infection or tonsillitis.
It is characterized by small sores, the size of drops and covered by fine scales, that commonly occur on the trunk, arms, legs and scalp. This type of psoriasis often goes away without treatment after running its course of a few weeks. However, at times, it may persist and treatment then becomes necessary.
3) Pustular Psoriasis.
This is a less common form of psoriasis, characterized by well defined raised pustules filled with pus. If widespread, it is called generalized pustular psoriasis, which is accompanied by fever with chills, itching and fatigue. It can also appear in small patches on the hands, fingertips and or the feet. Its onset appears as red and tender skin which very quickly develops into pus filled blisters. The skin becomes very scaly. These blisters dry within a day or two and can recur after a few days or weeks.
Pustular psoriasis that attacks the fingertips is called Acrodermatitis continua. This causes severe pain and can cause permanent nail destruction.
4) Inverse Psoriasis.
This is characterized by smooth, bright red inflamed skin patches occurring in the folds of the skin such as armpits, under the breast, in the groin, under the buttocks and in the folds of the abdomen. The aggravation of this type of psoriasis is caused by friction of the skin and the sweat in the skin folds.
Scales in this type of psoriasis are absent. Due to moistness by sweat in these skin folds, yeast and fungi thrive and trigger the onset of this psoriasis. Overweight people are more susceptible to this psoriasis probably due to bigger area under the skin folds and excessive sweating.
5) Erythrodermic or Exfoliative Psoriasis.
Of all the types of psoriasis, this is the least common. This psoriasis can be serious and almost the whole skin of the body can be infected with this type of psoriasis. It can be crippling and at times even fatal. The whole skin becomes red and inflamed.
There is a red peeling skin rash which usually itches and causes burning. There may be high fever with chills. This psoriasis is triggered by sunburn , certain medicines such as steroids or an existing psoriasis that is not being controlled.
6) Psoriasis of the Scalp or Seborrheic Psoriasis.
This presents as dry and red itching areas covered with silvery white scales. This affects the scalp and at times may extend below the hairline on the forehead and even on the outer ear. Excessive amounts of dead skin flakes are seen on the shoulder and the hair especially after scratching the scalp giving an impression of severe dandruff.
The difference between seborrheic dermatitis and scalp psoriasis is that the scales of dead skin are greasy or oily in seborrheic dermatitis, while in scalp psoriasis, they are dry.
7) Psoriatic Arthritis.
This is development of arthritis along with skin psoriasis. Joint symptoms may appear before, during or after the skin psoriasis. Joints commonly affected are those of the hands and feet, but any joint can get affected. Psoriatic arthritis lasts for a long time and often recurs.
Arthritis often improves when the skin symptoms improve. Symptoms include swollen and painful joints, stiffness and progressive joint damage which can cause permanent joint deformity. There may be accompanying conjunctivitis.
You could visit pictures of psoriasis for illustrating images of the various forms of psoriasis.
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