The Psoriasis and Psoriatic Arthritis Alliance - a positive approach; effective management.

Read and interact on our discussion area which is aimed at anyone with an interest in psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis.

If you wish to contribute or reply you will need to register as a website member.  All replies are subject to moderation.

Please be aware that some of these posts are personal opinions and views, and may not be the views of PAPAA.

We are registered with the National Institute of Health Research (NIHR) as a partner organisation, which allows us to be added to the UK Clinical Research Network portfolio when we support any research that qualifies. We will consider funding applications for small, relatively low cost (<£10k) research projects in the following areas: 

Short term observational studies, Funding of feasibility and pilot studies, Systematic Reviews, Small epidemiological surveys,  and Psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis in children
For more information see our research grants page

If you find your self in a position where you can care or support a friend, relation or a work colleague with psoriasis or psoriatic arthritis you may find some of the following pages useful. 

Here are some useful tips as to how you can be supportive to your partner

The dynamics of family life varies and each family copes differently, if a member of your family has psoriasis and or psoriatic arthritis, you are well placed to help and understand how they feel.

You can also help your friends or colleagues by understanding more about the conditions

Do you know what triggers psoriasis in children?  Symptoms only develop if they are triggered by certain events, most frequently in children and teenagers, often after a throat infection due to streptococcal bacteria.

This type of psoriasis is known as guttate psoriasis or raindrop psoriasis so named because it manifests itself over the body in the form of scaly droplet-like shaped patches.

Numerous small red scaly patches quickly develop over a wide area of skin, although the palms and the soles are usually not affected. Some people will go on in later life to develop chronic plaque psoriasis.

Are you a healthcare professionals and would like to order some FREE resources to give to your patients? Or would you like to register for our CPD accredited online distance learning Psoriasis in Practice course

Psoriasis in Practice is a patient-centred education programme, using patient interviews and case studies, clearly illustrating the everyday impact of psoriatic disease on the individual.

The programme can help all healthcare professionals understand the individual needs of people with psoriasis and/or psoriatic arthritis including how to assess and safely manage treatment for psoriasis patients.

Subscribe to PAPAA to get two back issues of  Skin 'n' Bones Connection journals sent to you and the next two sent when they are published.  You will also get access to the 'subscribers area' in our shop where all back issues can be downloaded.  

Benefit of subscribing:

• Download digital versions of our magazine
• New leaflets when they are produced
• Participate in surveys

Once you have accepted that you have a condition that won’t go away, adopting a positive view is a good start. You might find that reading other people stories will inspire you. Read Personal journeys.

Sharing with others
Writing down your thoughts and experiences could inspire others and help you to understand your own journey. Share your personal journey

Hear and see
Sometimes hearing and seeing other people's experiences, can be a useful way of not feeling alone. Short films

Read other tips here that may help you to manage your psoriasis and/or psoriatic arthritis

Genes are the body’s identity tags. Each gene acts in a different way and is responsible for a small part of the workings of the human body.

But do you know how and where the psoriasis gene comes into play and how they are important in psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis?

Both conditions are inherited, but there is not always an obvious direct family link, and they often skip generations.

Although psoriasis is a chronic long term condition with no cure, it can be controlled and go into remission (go away). Not all people will be affected in the same way and doctors will class the condition as mild, moderate or severe. There are many different types of psoriasis treatments that you may be offered and it may help to know more about how they work.

Psoriatic arthritis is also a chronic long term condition with no cure, but there are many effective treatments to manage and control it. Depending on your individual circumstances your may be offered some of the following different types of psoriatic arthritis treatments.

See our new video that is part of our strategy to raise awareness of psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis and includes our mission to look and delve deeper into the causes of psoriatic disease by funding research projects.
We have set up a campaign in our JustGiving page to raise funds towards our research support activities.
Read our previously funded research projects, which to date has been around three-quarters of a million pounds.
Read our impact report.
In order to continue to fund research, our educational programmes and support materials we need your donations.  

To see how you can support us or make a donation see our donate page. 

Psoriasis (sor-i’ah-sis) is a long-term (chronic) scaling disease of the skin which affects around 1 in 50 people, which is about 1.3 million, or around 2% of the UK population. 

IT IS NOT CONTAGIOUS and you cannot catch psoriasis from someone else.

It usually appears as red, raised, scaly patches known as plaques. Any part of the skin surface may be involved but the plaques most commonly appear on the elbows, knees and scalp.

It can be itchy but is not usually painful. Nail changes, including pitting and ridging, are present in nearly half  (40%-50%) of all those who have psoriasis.

For those that have psoriasis around 1 in 3 may develop an associated psoriatic arthritis (PsA), which is about 400,000 people, or around 0.6% of the UK population.

PsA causes pain and swelling in the joints and tendons, accompanied by stiffness particularly in the mornings.

The most commonly affected sites are the hands, feet, lower back, neck and knees, with movement in these areas becoming severely limited.

If you have psoriasis or psoriatic arthritis and you are overweight, the benefits of weight loss are clear: reduced inflammation, less severe skin disease and joint pain, improved mobility and a dramatically lower risk of heart disease, diabetes, cancer and liver disease. But what is the best way to go about losing weight?

There are hundreds of websites devoted to dieting and weight loss to choose from – and that is part of the problem. Almost without exception, any diet that makes promises about rapid weight loss is bogus and should be avoided. Read more about why it is important to maintain a healthy weight

Visit our secure shop where you can order all of our information leaflets FREE of charge. 

There are some simple training courses and self help guides and a selection of PAPAA branded awareness material.

You can also subscribe to PAPAA and renew your existing subscription through the shop. 

Many people who develop psoriasis are often surprised when they also get a diagnosis of psoriatic arthritis, but this is only scratching the surface of psoriatic disease. 

In order to understand what other conditions may also manifest themselves in people who have psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis we have had a process of surveying people who contact us. 

Delve deeper to see what the top 10 conditions that people living with psoriasis and/or psoriatic arthritis have been diagnosed with. 

Not everyone has the same symptoms at the onset of either psoriasis and/or psoriatic arthritis.

If you have dry or a flakey skin rash and joint pain, they may be connected. We have developed a symptom checker so you can assess what is happening to you.

The following pages will help you to understand your symptoms and see what ones may be included in a diagnosis of psoriasis and/or psoriatic arthritis. 

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