Psoriasis is an autoimmune disease characterized by inflammation of the skin, redness, itching and scaling. Psoriasis symptoms vary from patient to patient, but are often painful and even debilitating. In conventional medicine, the psoriasis patient has to endure the frustrations of the disease throughout their lives, and feel almost helpless as they cope with the inevitable flare-ups.
The underlying causes of the patient’s psoriasis are often neglected in conventional treatment. Instead, the doctor is focused on how to control the outbreak itself and its related symptoms with mostly topical treatments such as steroids, certain types of ointment and prescription retinoids.
How can this approach possibly alleviate the patient’s worries about the next flare-up, the overall discomfort, or even the psychological ramifications of the condition? Without addressing the underlying causes there is no hope of improvement.
As an autoimmune disease, psoriasis is basically the skin acting as a sign that there is something wrong within the body. It is the physician’s job to get to the root cause of psoriasis. Biologic medicine focuses on precisely this. Our approach is to examine what is going on inside of the body that is causing the inflammatory reaction in the first place.
In our work with people suffering from psoriasis (as well as eczemas) we usually find that problems begin with an intestinal disorder. The quality of the intestinal biome, and the integrity of the mucus membrane, directly correspond to epidermal irritations and outbreaks. We’ve also discovered that toxins play heavily into the picture. When the immune system is overloaded with pro-inflammatory factors – chiefly processed and industrialized food, toxic metals and chemicals, plus sundry medications – it reacts in kind, and for those with the genetic predilection, that means psoriasis related flare ups.
Psoriasis patients also often show a lack of key nutrients which add to the troubles of both the intestinal tract and subsequently the immune system. Inadequate key micronutrients, minerals, omega 3s and beneficial fatty acids for example, lead to hormonal imbalances. All of these factors eventually combine to force outward those symptoms that indicate something is wrong. Psoriasis and eczema are there to show us that something is in fact wrong.
Therefore at Paracelsus, we aim at treating these inner problems as we work toward curing the outer ones. With a highly individualized treatment plan, we focus on first removing harmful toxins from the body through methods such as colonic hydrotherapy, infusions and hyperthermia. We also work on improving intestinal health and introducing a more anti-inflammatory nutritional program into the patient’s life. As far as the skin itself, we have had very successful results by replacing those deficient micronutrients and concentrating on skin and cellular upbuilding.
Ultimately our success rate treating psoriasis is excellent. Because we identify the underlying causes and first address those, patients experience a significant lessening of symptoms if not complete recovery from psoriasis related outbreaks.