Treating scalp psoriasis
Hello my name is Karina and I'm adermatology nurse at St John's Institute of
Dermatology. In this short video I'mgoing to talk about scalp psoriasis and
some of the techniques you can use tomaximise the effectiveness
of your prescribed treatments.
Psoriasis is acommon condition that causes inflammation,
scaling and thickening of the skin. It canbe harder to treat on the scalp because
the hair hides it. The most commonlyprescribed treatments for psoriasis are
designed to reduce the inflammation inthe skin and the overproduction of skin cells.
These treatments include topicalsteroids, coal tar formulations and
vitamin D derivatives and these come indifferent formulations designed to use on the scalp.
Always wash and dry yourhands thoroughly before applying any
treatments, apply treatment to the scalpsection by section and gently massage
the treatment into the affected areas. Ifyou have long hair it may be helpful to
part the hair to facilitate this and ifyou have someone at home to help that
might make it easier. Be careful not tolet the treatment run off the scalp onto
the forehead or neck and remember toalways wash your hands thoroughly afterwards.
These treatments are normallyused once a day but follow the
instructions of your doctor or nurse.
If your psoriasis has thick scale on topit can be helpful to soften this to
gently remove it before using yourprescribed treatments. One way is to
apply emulsifying ointment or oil andleave under a shower cap for a few hours
or overnight if possible. The emulsifyingointment should be washed out with a
medicated shampoo and a flat comb can beused to help manually remove any loose
scale avoid picking though as this canmake the psoriasis worse. This procedure
can be undertaken before applying yourprescribed treatment and as frequently as is required.
We hope you found thisvideo useful, if you'd like further
information please click on the linkbelow for our downloadable leaflet. Thank you.
This video demonstrates techniques to treat scalp psoriasis, including how to apply treatments to the scalp and how to remove hard scale. Resources: Download an information leaflet: http://www.guysandstthomas.nhs.uk/resources/patient-information/dermatology/treating-scalp-psoriasis.pdf To watch more videos visit our website: www.guysandstthomas.nhs.uk/dermatologyvideos Find out more about our Dermatology services: http://www.guysandstthomas.nhs.uk/our-services/dermatology/overview.aspx