Scary Psoriasis: Beyond the Lesions
Psoriasis is a disease whose symptoms and complications can be quite uncomfortable and have a severe impact your feet that may seem scary at first. Around this time of year, we may enjoy putting up morbid decorations, breaking out horror films, and testing our courage at haunted houses like The Mortuary haunted house attraction in New Orleans. Still, in many ways, real life issues like health trouble can be more frightening to face.
Psoriasis is an autoimmune disease that affects your skin. It causes rough patches that build up into thickened, dry plaques. On your feet, you might develop blisters and painful pustules on your soles, making it extremely uncomfortable to stand or walk. Sometimes these dry plaques can crack like over-thick calluses, too, which can increase your risk for infections.
Unfortunately, psoriasis in your feet can cause other symptoms and complications as well. It can damage your toenails, deforming their shape. You may notice them thickening or developing “pits”—shallow or even deep holes and dips in your hard keratin. The tissue may grow discolored and separate from the nail bed, too.
Worse, psoriasis can actually be connected to a kind of arthritis. Psoriatic arthritis is joint damage connected to psoriasis, and can flare up in cycles, just like the skin symptoms. It causes inflammation, swelling, stiffness, and pain. In your feet it tends to particularly cause pain in your heel, both at the back by your Achilles tendon and in the sole, near the plantar fascia’s attachment point.
A Happy Ending to Psoriasis Tales
The good news is that, as spooky as psoriasis and its symptoms and complications may be, you don’t have to be afraid of it. You can take care of your feet and live a normal, healthy life with the right care. Our team at Gulf South Foot & Ankle, LLC is happy to help you deal with this condition and any other lower limb problems that may spook you this fall. Don’t let fear keep you from getting the foot care you need and deserve. Contact our Metairie office by calling (504) 708-4810 or our office in Covington at (985) 809-1464.