Localised Psoriasis

[BruceyBruce]

Hi All,

I'm new to this forum and this will be my first post here.

Im not sure myself when did i noticed about my Psoriasis but it isnt a very huge outbreak till present day. I think I have noticed it for about a couple of years, maybe 2 years or 3. But I have no clue when it actually started. The reason being that my psoriasis is very localised on both my elbows, with appearance of a circular patch with scales (about 5cm*5cm), symmetrical on both elbows. Hence, no one seems to point them out including myself and even my parents, until a couple of years ago when i realise the odd appearance.

However, recently I realised it suddenly appeared on my right knee which worries me a lot. There are currently only 3 distinct spots on my knee but I have been looking at my knees daily hoping a new spot does not appear. My Psoriasis doesnt seem to spread in the course of the 2,3 years that I have known them to exist, except for about 5 random spots in the entire 2,3 years which recovered over time. I normally just ignored them. 

Now that I have grown older, I have started to become concern over this autoimmune disease, to which whether it will spread, whether if it will affect my child in the future, etc. 

Therefore, may I seek any advice or opinions to which whether this is common? Or rather, what are the chances of my Psoriasis not spreading to the rest of my body except my elbows since it lays dormant for the past few years without spreading? And what are the odds of me getting psoriasis arthritis? I have tried to search for answers but the answers i observe are normally for people with large scale outbreaks over their entire body. So i would like to take this opportunity to seek advice from people here whom perhaps face the same issue as me. But of course, all advice are welcomed. 

Thank you all in advance

Bruce

[Fred]

The spreading of psoriasis is an unknown. Some stay with a small amount, some get covered in it. None of us are the same and various things like stress can cause a flare up and suddenly make it worse. It can also go into remission at any time but this is rare without a good treatment. So to answer your question, Yes it can spread to the rest of your body but there is no certainty that it will.

As for your children. It is said that it is in our genes so there is a possibility you could pass it onto your children, but again it's a bit of an unknown as it doesn't mean your children will definitely get it. I come from a large family on both sides and not one of my family have it.

Your chance of getting psoriatic arthritis is around 20% and it can range from very mild to debilitating. If you are one of the unlucky 20% there is no telling when it will strike you as it can effect the young and the old.

Not good reading I know, but once you accept it's going to remain with you for the rest of your life and it can be managed life's not so bad.

Welcome to Psoriasis Club by the way.

Regards.

Fred.

[AmandaL]

Hi Brucey welcome

I'm not sure whether we can supply the answers you're after. Have you been unwell lately or started any new medication? This can sometimes trigger Psoriasis to erupt in new places.

On the Arthritis note and whether it will effect your children, no one will know the answer. Does Psoriasis run in your family? I know that mine does and my children probably have a higher chance of developing it than others (although doctors would disagree with me on that one). We have members on the forum who have psoriasis and no arthritis, Psoriatic Arthritis and no psoriasis or both.

[jiml]

Hi Bruce nice to have you on board so   to the forum. We are a friendly group of fellow sufferers all with the dreaded Psoriasis in common, here Fred has compiled a tremendous amount of information about the disease and the various treatments for controlling it. Members have also added their experiences and are always happy to discuss treatments and give and accept advice .......

I hope you enjoy your time with us and can get some answers to your queries

You ask if it's likely to spread to other parts of your body, unfortunately it's not possible to give a definite answer, except to say only time will tell, many go through life with mild psoriasis and it doesn't get any worse, there are others that go through life with no sign of it then get a trigger ( sometimes a strep throat, or a stressful situation) and it erupts everywhere .
So there is no rule of where or when or yet how severe it may get


You worry about passing it on to your children, that is a possibility, but not a certainty

Good luck with your search  
Jim

[Kat]

I am the only person in my family that I know with psoriasis. Grandparents, parents, siblings, kids and grandkids (so far) do not have it. So I wouldn't overly worry about passing it on to your children, although of course it is possible they could have it.

I do not have psoriatic arthritis. It is possible you may have psoriasis pop up in other areas, just as it's possible that you may not. I know that doesn't help, but psoriasis attacks each of us differently.

Welcome to the forum!!!

[BruceyBruce]

Hi fellow friends,

Thank you all for your welcomes and replies. It's really an eye opener for me on this forum.

I was actually curious and wondering if there are any similar sufferers like me on this forum that have localised psoriasis for a prolonged period of time. Or perhaps sufferers who has encountered this exact issue but yet it suddenly escalated after a certain amount of time(despite it being dormant for a couple of years).

I would like to ask if anyone can share their experiences with me on this? Because I'm kinda worried about this at present.

[jiml]

I can't help you Bruce mine started in my scalp when I was 17  ( a lot of years ago) and progressed fairly rapidly to having plaques all over my body, I have had periods clear but never without medication of some sort ...
I don't know if there are members like you, but what I will say is probably the more you let it worry you the more likely you are to trigger a reaction in your psoriasis.
I think it was Fred that said Once you accept you have it and it's for life then you need to get on with your life, worrying won't help, and certainly won't make it go away...

However coming here is a great way to deal with it, as at least you will be speaking with other sufferers, and learning about the latest advances in the fight against the disease

Talking of your children, and if they are unlucky enough to develop psoriasis ( which I hope they dont)

But there are great advances in the treatment of the disease and the future is looking bright with science moving so fast, although I don't think it will ever be a cure I'm sure we are getting closer to an answer to the way to control it successfully  with less side effects  

[Kat]

Hi fellow friends,

Thank you all for your welcomes and replies. It's really an eye opener for me on this forum.

I was actually curious and wondering if there are any similar sufferers like me on this forum that have localised psoriasis for a prolonged period of time. Or perhaps sufferers who has encountered this exact issue but yet it suddenly escalated after a certain amount of time(despite it being dormant for a couple of years).

I would like to ask if anyone can share their experiences with me on this? Because I'm kinda worried about this at present.

I'll share my experience, which is perhaps a bit similar as I've never had the "outbreak" that some have where the psoriasis covers a large part of their body. Mine started on my ears and stayed there for the longest time (about a year, give or take). I had no clue what it was and mentioned it to my doctor. He prescribed a topical and said I had dermatitis. That didn't help. I then started having scalp problems, itching and bad dandruff (which wasn't dandruff) My elbows started having spots, I noticed a spot on my stomach and my back was itching as I had an outbreak on my back (largest area) just under my shoulder. That finally got me to a dermatologist who gave me the psoriasis diagnosis. I also had smaller spots here and there during this time. I did UV, took Acitretin and started to clear. I do still have problems with my ears and scalp, but it's manageable. I'm not on any meds at the moment. So for the past year it has stayed around my ears and hair for the most part, although much less of an area than it was before. So yes, it can stay predominately in one area, but it also can start to appear elsewhere with no warning. There is no way to know with certainty what will happen as it varies so greatly from one person to the next.

[Turnedlight]

Hi there

I started with it on my elbows too, when I was 18. I used a cortisone cream and it all went away.

Ten years or so on, I got a patch on my leg. Later I got it on my neck. I went on like this, it wasn't very nice but it wasn't problematic.

Then when I was in my late 30s I got spots over my back, which was different to having it in just one spot at a time. I saw the derm, he gave me uvb treatment, I burnt like a lobster and went erythrodermic where my skin was bright red, very hot and I had flu like symptoms. I got over that with steroid tablets and from then til now I still have patches everywhere I got burnt and other places too.

There were other signs that I hadn't linked to psoriasis at the time but looking back I think they were, like sore edges to my nose and mouth in winter, sometimes behind the ear too, and very dry flaky face which wouldn't go no matter how much moisturiser I put on.

Each time I can link it to stressful times in my life, like going away to uni or more recently having builders in the house.

So, yes it can change from being in just one place at a time to all over, but I guess it could just as easily not happen. I think there might be many people with a small amount of psoriasis out there who never get an outbreak or 'flare up' and perhaps have it mildly enough to never bother getting treatment.