Practical Lifestyle Changes That Can Bring Relief From The Symptoms of Psoriasis

1. Avoid skin irritants

Stay away from all commercially produced soaps, and use only soap products produced from all-natural sources such as olive, coconut, vegetable oils, and pine tar.


This Is Important Because:

  • Commercial soaps contain carbolic acid, caustic soda, and tallow which dry out your skin therefore irritating your psoriasis in the process.
  • Commercial soaps especially the deodorant ones contain all kinds of artificial perfumes and dyes, which are generally made from petroleum and therefore can cause allergies and skin irritation.

Soaps made from raw materials such oatmeal, tea tree oil, and honey (just to name a few) are effective for providing significant relief to people suffering from psoriasis and other skin ailments.

2. Avoid showering with chlorinated water

A shower/bath filter that filters out chlorine and other contaminants is an absolute necessity in controlling psoriasis because:

Chlorine makes your skin dry and brittle and keeping your skin moist and revitalized is extremely vital when working on trying to clear your psoriasis lesions. Chlorine reacts with the proteins in the skin, causing cells not to adhere as well to each other. As a result, the skin becomes a less effective barrier, and dead cells visibly flake off, resulting in what is commonly known as “dry skin”.

I would personally recommend a top of the line shower filter manufactured by a company called Aquasana. You can purchase this and other excellent water filtration products produced by this company by clicking on

Tip: Although swimming is a great form of exercise, swimming in a heavily chlorinated pool will only irritate your psoriasis. If you do swim in a chlorinated pool, be sure to rinse off after swimming with clear water and then moisturize the skin.

3. Reduce your stress level

Recent medical studies have confirmed that stress plays a major role in increasing the severity of many diseases.

Psoriasis like most other diseases is worsened by stress. Stress increases the toxins in your body, thus resulting in negative effects on your health and skin. You should try these suggestions for alleviating stress levels: meditation, yoga and sleeping well. Getting rid of stress helps to rebalance your system to a healthier and stronger state.

Stress, unexpressed anger, and emotional disorders, including depression and anxiety, are strongly associated with psoriasis flare-ups. In one study, nearly 40% of patients remembered a specific stressful event that occurred within a month of a psoriasis flare.

A 2001 study suggested, that stress could trigger specific immune factors associated with psoriasis flares. Some evidence indicated that people with psoriasis might respond to stress differently from those without the skin disease. In one study, psoriasis patients had fewer aggressive verbal responses than others did when confronted with hostile situations.

Keep in mind that when your body is stressed out it cannot and will not function properly.

4. Stop smoking!


Studies have shown that [1], smokers have at least a two- to threefold increased risk of developing psoriasis, and [2], Smoking may precipitate as many as one quarter of all psoriasis cases especially pustular psoriasis. Researchers have found that smoking more than 15 cigarettes a day is strongly linked with the development of pustular psoriatic lesions.

Smoking increases the inflammation of the body as a whole and weakens the immune system, so smokers with psoriasis are likely to have worse lesions than they otherwise would.

Click on  to learn more about the health dangers of smoking.

Studies have shown that inhaling second hand smoke can have the same negative health effects as straight smoking. It is therefore vital to try to distance yourself from this irritant as well.

5. Do exercise get active

Regular daily exercise is absolutely vital for controlling your psoriasis. This is a field that has been extensively researched by our wise sages and scholars, and millions of dollars of taxpayer’s money have gone into proving its benefits. This is a prime example of where a little bit of pure common sense can go a long way.

People from time immortal have always known that constant physical activity is a major and vital key to proper health. Numerous studies have proven, that, people who live in much more primitive societies and therefore are much more physically active, have much lower rates of many of the degenerative diseases that plague people who live in so-called more advanced western societies.

The best forms of exercise that will stimulate the digestive and lymph systems are swimming, walking and bicycling, raking the lawn, walking behind the lawn mower; basically any kind of constant physical activity is beneficial. It can be lifting weights, Yoga, or any other kind of physical activity that you enjoy.

Just plain old brisk walking is most probably much more beneficial than jogging, especially if you suffer from digestive problems which is the case in a majority of psoriasis patients.

The theory behind this is, that many times too much overly active exercise could upset the sensitive digestive system. Imagine revving your automobile at full throttle for just one hour each day. That’s exactly what happens when you actively jog for just one hour each day. Your body could just become overburdened trying to keep up.

Many people are just too busy to set themselves up with a regular exercise program, and therefore just give up on the whole idea of exercise. The good news that there are many ways how you can so to speak sneak in some physical activity.

For example, when entering the office take the stairs instead of the elevator or the escalator. When taking the bus to work, get off the bus a couple of stops before your regular stop. Remember, every small bit helps.

6. Avoid certain medications

Avoid certain medications  especially beta-blockers and lithium, which can provoke a psoriasis attack. If you’ve suffered from psoriasis in the past, ask your doctor before adding new medications to your drug regimen.



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