Psoriasis on skin.. Help!

Hi everyone,
Been awhile since I’ve posted anything… to be honest I’ve just got on with things! Currently I’m having pretty good spell… on 17.5mg methotrexate injection… PsA is relatively calm &playing nice at minute… no major hiccups lately! Gold ☆ lol…
My main ''hate" at minute is the psoriasis side of PsA… I’ve random patches on body…These don’t bother me as they fade in & out & cant really be seen often… whereas the psoriasis on my scalp just seems to be getting worse & spreading…

Its worse along hairline & it’s almost like a neon sign glowing along forehead hairline… if I don’t constantly wash hair every 2 days or extreme 3 days… psoriasis just seems to go wild!! I constantly have this reddening look to the skin &if left like I said… skin slowly gets drier… flaking… etc… it looks terrible!!
It’s because it’s so evident… & noticeable that I’m getting more paranoid about it being “on show…” I can easily see people staring at it all…but most don’t mention it…
What does anybody use for the psoriasis? Creams…? shampoo’s…? I was prescribed doublebase(??) Think it was… a shower gel & a cream for after… my skin didn’t like it &I got a rash off it!
Any thoughts/ help… greatly appreciated! :slight_smile:

Don’t know why… but had to split this post in 2… think it was abit long… kind of went off in slight rant about it all!!

Hi Newbie UK. I had scalp psoriasis for over 30 years and had tried probably every prescription and OTC medication available over the years. Finally, in my mid-50s, I came across a shampoo at Walgreens, MG217 Medicated Tar Shampoo, which worked better than any prescription or non-prescription cream or shampoo, whether tar-based or otherwise. It was the best thing that happened for my scalp psoriasis before Enbrel came into my life! So, if you're not at the point of going on a biologic, maybe MG217 would work as well for you as it did me. It isn't available at Walgreens anymore, but it can be purchased online. At least it was available online 2 years ago (I stopped buying it when I went on Enbrel). It does have a really strong tar smell, but for me that was minor for the relief it gave my scalp. I would wash my hair with it e/o day, and leave it on for about 5 minutes before rinsing. I didn't apply a lot of conditioner to be rinsed out because I thought that would coat my scalp and make the tar shampoo ineffective. So, I'd just rub a pea-sized amount of conditioner on my hair and not rinse it after that.

Good luck! I wouldn't wish that annoying, embarrassing and unsightly scalp psoriasis (or any psoriasis for that matter) on anybody! I'm hoping I never have to deal with scalp psoriasis again! I do have stubborn psoriasis on my legs and elbows despite being on Enbrel for over 18 months now, but I use betamethasone for the itch and just thank God that's all I have!

NewbieUK, sounds like you might be in need of a topical for that skin to calm it down. Your GP is the place to go and s/he will be able to prescribe something suitable. Betamethasone that GrandmaJ mentions is pretty effective, here in the UK two topicals that it's in are Betnovate, which comes in a cream and ointment form, and Dovobet which is a liquid/gel combined with Calcipotriol.

My own experience has been that Betnovate ointment is effective for the odd random patches. Ointment is better than cream for me simply because it is more moisturising. Dovobet is brilliant for the scalp and really resistant plaques. If you have any psoriasis in any sensitive places then these are way too strong and your doc will prescribe something milder.

I've found that keeping the skin as moisturised as possible is also essential. I'm thinking you mean Diprobase? Not tried it myself, I am currently using Hydromol which is very similar to Epaderm. As well as moisturisers they can also both be used in the shower as skin cleansers. I try to make sure that all the products that I use ... shampoos, shower gels, handwash, moisturisers are sodium lauryl sulfate (sls) free ... nasty, nasty stuff (it's an engine degreaser!).

Hope this helps.

Hi there! Despite having had PsA for some time I didn't really know the half of it when it came to psoriasis ..... until last year. Big ol' flare up and my scalp was badly affected too.

I didn't have much luck with steroid creams. Or at least they didn't seem to conquer any areas of psoriasis, they just calmed it down. But yes, the routine de-scaling, application of steroid, moisturising regime did help. The moisturising cream that was most soothing for the psoriasis on my body was Balneum Cream which contains urea. Good stuff urea!

Question to Jules: how the heck does one moisturise the scalp without looking like a spiv? I wasn't given any products that could do that but it was something I did wonder about.

NewbieUK, the reddening that you mention drove me crazy, it was worst in the evenings. You end up quite literally unhappy in your own skin. Shampooing did make my scalp look and feel better, but surely it dries the skin out whichever shampoo you use? I tried not to wash my hair too often and started applying apple cider vinegar to the reddest parts of my scalp (using a cotton wool pad). Probably just a placebo but it is very cooling & soothing.

You'll notice I'm using the past tense. It's a bit complicated because my flare was thought to have been triggered by stopping Mtx last January. And re-starting it has pretty much sorted me out. I think you've been on Mtx a fair while though haven't you?

Oooops, my reply went haywire, so I deleted it.....I basically was trying to say the betamethasone cream was really greasy, so I'd apply it at night and wash my hair in the morning. I probably wasn't as diligent as some people are about treating my psoriasis--it was just all so annoying for me, going through so many products that didn't work that well!

With great difficulty!!!!!! Best before bed: apply, make a mess massaging in, check you look like a spiv (this ensures you've done the job properly) cover head with old scarf to protect pillow (which will still need additional protection) and go to bed. Pray to any diety of your choice that nothing necessitates you getting out of bed to answer the door or otherwise interact with anyone except your nearest and dearest until it's all washed off in the morning.

Sybil said:

Question to Jules: how the heck does one moisturise the scalp without looking like a spiv? I wasn't given any products that could do that but it was something I did wonder about.

Thanks! I love the detail. Hearing about the whole palaver blow by blow is reassuring, stops me thinking that it's just me that makes a gooey mess of everything.

I wonder how many people actually go to these lengths? I think I would if my scalp was badly affected again.

Jules G said:

With great difficulty!!!!!! Best before bed: apply, make a mess massaging in, check you look like a spiv (this ensures you've done the job properly) cover head with old scarf to protect pillow (which will still need additional protection) and go to bed. Pray to any diety of your choice that nothing necessitates you getting out of bed to answer the door or otherwise interact with anyone except your nearest and dearest until it's all washed off in the morning.

Sybil said:

Question to Jules: how the heck does one moisturise the scalp without looking like a spiv? I wasn't given any products that could do that but it was something I did wonder about.

Well… I’ve ordered some MG217 just waiting on it to arrive see how that goes! &the dovobet gel I actually used it in past… still got bottle which I salvaged from back of cupboards! Had forgotten it was actually there… so between these 2 products I’ll update in awhile let you know how I got on!! :slight_smile:

Good luck!!!! With MG217 I didn't have any itching or scales. It was so long ago when I started it that I don't remember if I noticed huge improvement right away, or if I had to use it a few times before it really went to work. I hope it works for you!

Dovobet loses it's effectiveness once it's been open three months, especially if it's been exposed to light. I assume it's the calcipotriol element as plain betamethsone goes on and on forever. I've been using it consistently on my feet for a year and I can always tell when it's getting near to needing a new bottle.

I'd ring your GP's prescription line and see if they can issue you with a new script ... I find mine are pretty helpful if it's something the doc has prescribed before.

Well just got the shampoo in post going to try it over this next couple weeks and see how I go! But in the short term Dovobet gel seems to be taking the ‘rough’ look off my psoriasis! :slight_smile:

Changing the subject, Newbie, how are your feet? They were causing you such misery a while back.

Hi Seenie,
yeah from going onto the mtx injection now 17.5 dose I do feel pretty damn good! :slight_smile: feet have really mellowed out if that’s the way to describe it! Don’t get me wrong they do still hurt continually but overall in comparison to earlier they are great!! No longer are they as swollen or uncomfortable but I just deal with the pain and flare ups when they occur!

Thank goodness for that!



Newbie UK said:
Hi Seenie,
yeah from going onto the mtx injection now 17.5 dose I do feel pretty damn good! :) feet have really mellowed out if that's the way to describe it! Don't get me wrong they do still hurt continually but overall in comparison to earlier they are great!! No longer are they as swollen or uncomfortable but I just deal with the pain and flare ups when they occur!

Good luck with the MG217, Newbie! I hope you notice a huge improvement. I'm surer you'll figure out a way to camouflage the tar smell. :-) Let us know how it goes!

I do the exact same thing and look just as scary when is all said and done. It’s the only thing that really works. In between treatments, I use tea tree shampoo and conditioner and it works pretty well to keep things in order for a few days.



Sybil said:

Thanks! I love the detail. Hearing about the whole palaver blow by blow is reassuring, stops me thinking that it’s just me that makes a gooey mess of everything.

I wonder how many people actually go to these lengths? I think I would if my scalp was badly affected again.

Jules G said:

With great difficulty!!! Best before bed: apply, make a mess massaging in, check you look like a spiv (this ensures you’ve done the job properly) cover head with old scarf to protect pillow (which will still need additional protection) and go to bed. Pray to any diety of your choice that nothing necessitates you getting out of bed to answer the door or otherwise interact with anyone except your nearest and dearest until it’s all washed off in the morning.

Sybil said:

Question to Jules: how the heck does one moisturise the scalp without looking like a spiv? I wasn’t given any products that could do that but it was something I did wonder about.

Just a little update! :slight_smile:

Think I’ve found the most beneficial way of working things! Well… for me anyway!!

Soo… it’s been a few weeks now & I definitely see improvement! It’s a balancing act basically between using MG217 shampoo & Dovobet gel! It’s really helped with the whole scalp side of psoriasis… less itching… less obvious angry red patches staring back at me in mirror! Quite happy with overall results… hoping just with continual treatment it will gradually disappear to some extent :slight_smile: