Psoriasis and Arthritis Related? Here’s how.

I feel like there should be a, “Why did the chicken cross the road joke?” here . . . only it’s a, “Why didn’t your doctor relate that your skin problems and joint aches might be related?” – unfortunately the joke isn’t funny at all!

Psoriatic arthritis is a chronic inflammatory disease of the joints that can occur in patients with psoriasis. Psoriasis is a skin disease in which scaly red and white patches develop in the skin. For most people, psoriatic arthritis will start about 10 years after psoriasis begins. This type of arthritis can affect any joint in the body and symptoms vary from person to person. When fingers and toes are affected they can resemble swollen sausages. Not pretty and quite painful. Psoriatic arthritis usually appears in people between the ages of 30 to 50, but it can begin to develop as early as childhood sadly. It is similar to Rheumatoid Arthritis in that it is an auto-immune related condition and needs to be addressed specifically like any other.

A healthy immune system will generate inflammation to protect itself, to help fight infection and to prevent disease. Sometimes our immune system goes haywire and mistakenly attacks the joint with uncontrolled inflammation. This potentially causes joint erosion. This is what happens in Psoriatic arthritis – first, it attacks your skin and when nothing is done- then your joints!

This type of inflammation may lead to further damage of internal organs, eyes and other parts of the body. With autoimmune and inflammatory types of arthritis, early diagnosis can help minimize and prevent permanent joint damage and further symptoms when treated properly.

In our clinic we treat Psoriatic Arthritis with the following therapies:

• Elimination of Food Intolerances (we try to stop pissing your immune system off) Food allergies can be a huge trigger!
• Specialized Anti-inflammatory diets that essentially eliminate the higher inflammatory foods that are out there in our common diets.
• Anti-inflammatory herbs and nutrients to support your immune system.
• IV Therapy – especially Vitamin C drips! We do get specific on these depending on your symptoms and the needs of your body.
• Medication therapy like LDN (low dose naltrexone) or other anti-inflammatory medications as needed.

A personalized plan is what you need to best succeed in eliminating your skin rashes and joint pain. We are prepared to strategize with you as to whether or not you have this type of arthritis and what to do about it!