Can You Treat Psoriasis with Essential Oils?

A long-term skin eczema or psoriasis as it’s called has no medical cure; you can only effectively manage it with the help of alternative medicines. These alternative medicines, unlike allopathic medicines, have no scientific evidence based theories that support the claim of managing psoriasis.

However, they have been found to be more effective in managing the skin rash than the regular allopathic medicines. Essential oils are a rich source of alternative medicines that help one treat various skin conditions.

What is psoriasis?

It is a skin condition that roughly affects 1-2% of American and North European people.

• An autoimmune disease, the body cells go bonkers and attack the skin cells as if they are foreign bodies.
• The skin suffers from inflammation and papules and plaques are formed all over the skin.
• You can even find some silver colored flakes in the skin that can be itchy in nature.
• The flaky skin can become extremely dry with red painful patches.
• Psoriasis can affect some people in specific areas like skin folds, palms, and soles.
• In other cases, plaques are formed all over the body particularly in knees, elbows, lower back, and scalp.

Psoriasis does not necessarily stay on the skin for a long period of time. It goes off only to return again when excessive stress or other factors trigger it off. Depending on the severity of the condition, Psoriasis can be mild, moderate or severe.

Psoriatic arthritis is a condition with an aching joint that occurs along with psoriasis. The skin inflammation in case of psoriatic arthritis affects the joints. In some rare cases, psoriatic arthritis occurs on its own without the trigger of skin condition.

Causes of Psoriasis

The skin rash is not only triggered by an auto-immune system. There are multiple factors that are responsible for psoriasis.

• Genetic formation
• HIV and other infections
• Long exposure to the sun
• Excessive intake of alcohol
• Smoking
• Stress

What are essential oils?

• They are natural oils of plants that are obtained through a process called distillation.
• Volatile oils get vaporized and condensed in the process of distillation.
• The essential oil has the particular flavor of the plant from which they are extracted like, chamomile, lavender, lemon, and peppermint.
• Aromatherapy rests on the foundation of essential oils.

Can essential oils treat psoriasis?

Some known essential oils like tea-tree oil, chamomile, and bergamot oil are used to effectively manage psoriasis. Tea-tree oil is found in various cosmetic products including shampoos to treat psoriasis in scalps. Loaded with antiseptic properties, tea-tree oil is used in the treatment of acne.

In absence of any scientific data that can claim the benefits of tea-tree oil in the treatment of psoriasis, one should immediately stop using the oil if there is any negative reaction. Aromatherapy that rests solely on the usage of essential oils, suggests a blend of more than one essential oil to bring about the desired results.

Extensive research on bitter apricot essential oils reveals the fact that the former restricts the growth of flaky skin rashes and thus effective in managing psoriasis. The research, however, has not been carried out on human species.

A basic research done on essential oil extracted from the East Indian Globe thistle has revealed the positive impact of the oil on psoriasis. The study is not supported by scientific evidence as the basic research has limited itself on the chemical level.

Other alternative remedies for Psoriasis

Another set of alternative medicines suggests effective management of psoriasis.

• Evening primrose
• Fish oil that contains a high amount of Omega-3 fatty acids.
• Dietary supplements rich in Omega-3 fatty acids. For example, vegetable oil, nuts, seeds, soy foods, and algae.
• Apply aloe-vera, a gel-like substance on psoriasis affected skin to get some relief. You can temporarily benefit from the redness and itching.
• Apply cayenne peppers-capsaicin cream where the content of capsaicin is only 0.025 percent on the skin to get rid of itching.
• Stay away from using the cream on open skin or on the face as you might feel a burning sensation.

Medical management of Psoriasis

You get treated by dermatologists for your Psoriasis. In case you are affected with Psoriatic arthritis, your medical team will consist of both dermatologists as well as Rheumatologists. The common treatment program includes:

• Topical treatment of the skin which consists of an application of the medicine on the skin in case of mild psoriasis. These medicines are corticosteroids and Vitamin-D based medicines.
• Phototherapy which is exposing the skin to ultra-violet rays. They are prescribed for patient affected by a moderate degree of psoriasis.
• Prescription drugs are used to treat patients with a severe degree of psoriasis.

Although not known to cure psoriasis completely, the doctors prescribe the below drugs to manage the disease.

• Methotrexate to suppress the immune system and restrict their activity in attacking the own body cells.
• Retinoids like acitretin and isotretinoin.
• Cyclosporine is a drug known to suppress the immune system.
• Biologics that include Etanercept, Adalimumab, and Infliximab.

If you find your skin showing signs of acne, flakes, and gets excessively dehydrated, consult a doctor without fail before it reaches the phase of severity.

Michael Swift is a connector with Caffeinated who help businesses find their audience online. In his spare time, he reads books, writes for reviewlatest.com and commits to do any activities that take place outdoors.