Foot Psoriasis Affects the Soles of the Feet Often Resulting in Disability
It is most usual to have ordinary scaly psoriasis as well as pustular psoriasis that will affect both hands and feet. Foot psoriasis affects the soles that are involved and it can result in disability that is out of proportion to the extent of the disorder. For proper functioning of the foot, the soles need to be tough as well as elastic. With foot psoriasis, one finds that the soles tend to crack and also become inflamed, as well as cause much pain and makes walking extremely difficult.
Can Appear at the Site of a Foot Injury
Foot psoriasis may appear where there has been an injury to the foot, and people that perform tough manual work may be most at risk, which can become even more aggravated if there is also perpetual minor irritation. Foot psoriasis may take different forms including plaque and pustular types. The plaque type foot psoriasis or the pustular form represents different clinical entities in which pustules develop early, and each may profoundly affect the physical abilities as well as quality of life of the patient.
Foot psoriasis can be particularly debilitating to the patient and affect his or her abilities to function normally when doing daily chores, and thus lead to further physical disability, psychological distress as well as social dysfunction. It is most pronounced when it affects the feet as compared to other parts of the body - with the exception of a patient’s hands.
As of now, there is no generally accepted treatment regime that specifically addresses the needs of foot psoriasis even though a number of therapies are available that treat such a condition in a general way. Doctors may prescribe topical agents, phototherapy, as well as systemic agents and even though these may prove effective in clearing many areas of the body, their use is limited.
There are some agents that are limited by short duration of response, intolerability as well as toxicity. In addition, the regular addition of messy, greasy as well as sometimes bad smelling agents can adversely affect the quality of life of the patient, and this may be further compounded by the side effects that result, which does not make them ideal for prolonged usage. Some notable side effects include cutaneous atrophy, telangiectasis, striae, as well as being prone to contract tachyphylaxis.
It is thus clear that patients of foot psoriasis are in need of new therapies that will provide consistent psoriasis control over extended periods that ought to last for even decades. Even then, with declining research on foot psoriasis, no new treatment strategies have come out that address this unresponsive condition.
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