The irritating skin condition – psoriasis — which causes red, bone-deep itches and scaly patches may lead to other diseases. A number of skin specialists, on October 29, which is also the World Psoriasis Day, will elaborate on diseases such as psoriasis arthritis, cardiovascular disease, depression, diabetes and obesity.

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With the theme 'Treat Psoriasis seriously, our lives depend on it', the doctors will encourage the citizens to fight this condition with conviction. Over the years, there has been a significant rise in the patients suffering from the disease across the world.

In psoriasis, the bad immune system affects the healthy skin cells and accelerates the process of formation dead skin. This makes the skin scaly, itchy, dry and red. The commonly affected parts are elbows, knees and scalp.

According to Dr. Bela Shah, Prof & Head - Department of Dermatology, Venereology and Leprology, B.J Medical College, Ahmedabad. there are males suffer more from this condition.

"As per our clinical records, there are about 2 to 6 cases of psoriasis that we encounter every day. According to our observation, the condition affects more males than females with a ratio of 3:1 across all age groups with it being most commonly found in patients in the 20 to 40 years age group," said the doctor.

"In Gujarat, the incidence of psoriasis is about 1 to 5%. Research indicates that 15-20% psoriasis patients usually have a positive family history of the condition,"she said.

Psoriasis can also be a part of metabolic syndrome in many patients and can occur in the paediatric age group where diagnosis usually gets delayed as the plagues are soft at that stage.

It has been observed that delay in diagnosis affects the severity of the disease, with the average time gap between the onset of symptoms and diagnosis being 6 months to 1 year.

"Psoriasis disturbs the immune system. One of the common causes of the disturbed immune system is stress or skin infection. The disease can last for a few months to a lifetime. Healthy and stress-free lifestyle can help patients recover, "skin specialist Dr Jitesh Bhatt.

THE SYMPTOMS

Rashes, dryness, peeling, thickness or redness