For the past nine years, October 29th has been dedicated as World Psoriasis Day by the International Federation of Psoriasis Associations (IFPA) and all of us here at Pacific Coast Water Systems of Fullerton want to recognize this day and acknowledge the 125 million individuals who suffer from psoriasis on a daily basis.
The IFPA is a non-profit organization comprised of psoriasis associations from around the globe. They seek to raise awareness of this debilitating skin disease and to let patients with psoriasis know that they are not in this fight alone. They constantly strive to improve access to treatment and to raise the priority of this disease in the healthcare agenda. They provide information to those affected by psoriasis as well as educating the general public about this condition so they can discuss it more openly and confidently.
This year has been an exciting year for the psoriasis community as the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Executive Board issued a global action plan regarding psoriasis. Regrettably this disease often slips under the radar, but due to the IFPA’s efforts, awareness has increased and hope for a cure is renewed.
Psoriasis is a non-communicable disease where the immune system miscues the body to produce skin cells up to ten times faster than normal. This over production of skin cells leads to a build up of old and new skin cells on the surface of the skin resulting in red, flaky, crusty patches of skin covered with silvery scales called plaques which often cause severe itching and burning.
Since there is currently no cure for psoriasis, patients can only treat the symptoms. One way we at Rayne can help is by installing water softeners in their homes. Many psoriasis suffers find that using softened water is much gentler and less irritating on their skin and some even see improvement in their plaques after using a water softener. The reasoning behind this is that hard water builds up deposits on the skin which can be a major source of irritant to existing plaques. Also, salt water has been proven to be an excellent source of calming and penetration to help slough off the dead skin cells.
To see how you can help and to find out about World Psoriasis Day events in your community, visit their website at http://www.worldpsoriasisday.com/. Let’s all help raise awareness of this disease and support the millions who live with psoriasis every day.