Psoriasis is a common skin disease. Its name comes from the Greek word "psora" (translated as "itch"). Today, about 5% of the inhabitants of the planet suffer from this disease.
Psoriasis can affect people of all ages, from infants to the elderly. Practice shows that the majority of patients are young people. They go to the doctor with suspicions of psoriasis.
Before visiting the clinic, you should find out which specialist you need to contact with such complaints.
Which doctor should I contact if I suspect psoriasis?
In case of manifestation of the first signs of psoriasis, it is necessary to consult a dermatologist. After all, the symptoms of this disease first appear on the skin.
A specialist who performs competent treatment of skin diseases will make the correct diagnosis and take all the necessary therapeutic measures.
If the patient has a complicated type of psoriasis (psoriatic arthropathy), the treatment should be carried out by a professional rheumatologist.
Regardless of which specialist the patient turns to, the doctor can easily confirm or, conversely, refute the presence of this disease.
Treating any form of psoriasis is a laborious process. By the way, a complete cure does not occur in principle. Even with the disappearance of symptoms, the disease goes into the stage of regression. In this case, the symptoms may completely disappear.
Which doctor treats psoriasis?
Psoriasis is a systemic disease whose symptoms are not limited to rashes. Often, its course is accompanied by a change in metabolism, immune disorders, as well as malfunctions in the endocrine system.
Violations quite often affect the work of internal organs. Accordingly, consulting a dermatologist in this case is not enough.
In many patients, psoriatic plaques form on the scalp. In this case, the advice of an appropriate specialist is also required.
Dermatologist
It is very important that a patient with psoriasis is regularly monitored by an experienced dermatologist. This is very important, since this disease can worsen even many years after remission.
In addition, the specialist conducts the necessary studies to determine the underlying disease, which may have caused the development of a skin disease.
In this case, it is necessary to carry out its effective treatment.
All therapeutic measures, regardless of the severity of the disease, should be agreed with a dermatologist. Sometimes psoriasis provokes the development of a pathology that affects the joints - psoriatic arthropathy. In the event of a complication, the specialist refers the patient to a rheumatologist.
Specialist doctors
Answering a common question, which specialist treats psoriasis, many people forget that it is important to eliminate not only the external manifestations of the disease, but also the cause that caused the deterioration of well-being. Accordingly, for effective treatment of the disease, one cannot do without the help of highly specialized specialists.
Here are the doctors who treat psoriasis and its common complications:
- gastroenterologist: the help of this doctor is required in case of serious organic damage. In this case, it is often necessary to take strong medications. Despite the fact that they negatively affect the state, the work of the stomach, liver, treatment with the use of these drugs produces a good effect;
- cardiologist: pathology can be accompanied by significant disturbances in the work of the heart (pericarditis, myocarditis). In such cases, the patient simply needs the professional help of a cardiologist;
- nephrologist:some forms of the disease are accompanied by major failures, partial dysfunction of the bladder, kidneys. Treatment of such pathologies should be carried out by a qualified doctor;
- neurologist:neurological pathologies often cause a recurrence of a skin disease. Accordingly, patients prone to the development of prostatitis (or when it recurs) should undergo a preventive examination every 3-6 months;
- rheumatologist: in case of arthropathy, the consultation of a rheumatologist is necessary. It is impossible to get rid of the disease without a correctly chosen principle of treatment.
Treatment of pathology is effective only with timely action. Compliance with the doctor's recommendations will allow you to cope with mental discomfort, as well as to exclude the development of complications in the future.
It is recommended that all patients with psoriasis be observed by a psychologist. More than 78% of exacerbations of the disease are manifested by nervous tension, severe stress.
An experienced psychologist will help each patient cope with emotional stress. Thanks to this, it will be possible to adapt much better in society.
Clarification of the diagnosis: what medical examinations should you undergo?
At the initial diagnostic examination, if psoriasis is suspected, the patient should undergo the following mandatory tests at the initial examination:
- Urine analysis: necessary to determine the water-salt balance;
- fecal analysis:necessary to detect the possible presence of helminths in the body;
- blood test: general, as well as biochemistry. Many patients mistakenly believe that blood helps to refute or confirm the diagnosis. However, this is not entirely true. Such a study is carried out to identify possible complications caused by the disease. Blood also allows you to determine the presence of allergic reactions in the body.
Additional studies include:
- bacteriological culture: performed if rashes appear on the mucous membrane. This is necessary to exclude pharyngitis (acute);
- x-ray: if the patient has pain in the joints and the doctor suspects the presence of psoriatic arthritis, an auxiliary study of the bone structure is carried out;
- skin biopsy: to clarify the diagnosis, a cytological examination of the epidermis is performed, which was removed from the affected skin. Samples are taken from one or more areas of the body.
What does the complete medical care of the patient include?
The ultimate goal of the doctor's work is to preserve a person's working capacity, as well as to prevent the disability of a patient suffering from psoriasis.
If the patient has already sought qualified help in a serious condition, hospital treatment is required. In a satisfactory condition, experts recommend dispensary observation.
In this case, you should consult your doctor regularly. Thanks to this, it will be possible to better control the dynamics of the disease.
Full medical care of a patient with psoriasis involves treatment in a sanatorium or a special dispensary. It is not uncommon for patients to go to a specialized nursing home for two weeks.
In these medical institutions, the patient is under the constant supervision of experienced specialists. At the same time, not only the effectiveness of the treatment is monitored. Sanatoriums are also thinking about the most suitable menu for customers suffering from psoriasis.
Many will agree that psoriasis is an unpleasant disease for the patient (from a physical and moral point of view). Fortunately, medicine today knows many ways to effectively treat psoriasis.
Patients should be aware that today many specialists can help them. Regardless of the degree of the disease, this disease must be treated competently. Only in the case of the right approach will it be possible to achieve positive results and achieve lasting remission.