Treatment1, 5

The first step on the road to treatment is to see a doctor who can diagnose psoriasis. Once you have been diagnosed, you and your doctor can work together to develop a treatment plan.

Though there is no known cure for psoriasis, there are many treatment options that can reduce the symptoms associated with the disease. It is helpful to remember that no single treatment works for everyone. The approach to psoriasis treatment depends on the type, location and severity of your condition, as well as your age and medical history.

Together, you and your doctor can find a treatment that works for you. It's important to stick to the regimen you and your doctor have chosen to get the best results from treatment.

Who treats psoriasis?

Many people with psoriasis can be treated by a general practitioner. However, your GP may refer you to a dermatologist (skin specialist) if symptoms are severe or have not responded well to previous treatments.

How is psoriasis diagnosed?1

In order to diagnose psoriasis, a health care provider simply examines the affected skin. He/she can also examine a piece of skin under the microscope (a procedure called a biopsy), but this is not usually necessary. Your doctor will be able to assess the severity of your disease and help you determine a treatment plan.

What treatments are available for psoriasis?

Current treatment options fall into three broad categories. Click to find out more about each category:6

  • Topical agents (creams and ointments applied to the skin)
  • Phototherapy (exposing the skin to wavelengths of natural and artificial ultraviolet light)
  • Systemic medications (taken by tablet or injection) are prescription medications that affect the entire body, and are usually reserved for patients with moderate to severe psoriasis. Biologics are a type of systemic medication.

Doctors often take what is commonly known as a "1-2-3 approach". This approach begins with topical therapy, then moves to phototherapy and, eventually, systemic therapy, which includes biologics. The "1-2-3 approach" evolved because treatments that work well at first may lose their effectiveness over time. Also, a treatment that works very well in one person may have little effect in another. Thus, doctors often use a trial-and-error approach to find a treatment that works, and they may switch treatments periodically (for example, every 12 to 24 months) if a treatment does not work or if adverse reactions occur.7

Biologic therapies are treatment options for people with moderate-to-severe cases of psoriasis. They are different from other systemic medications because they are designed to block the disease in its development — in the immune system. Biologics interrupt the inflammatory cycle of psoriasis and improve symptoms for many people who take them.8

Many patients complement conventional treatments with alternative therapies.9