Psoriasis

Psoriasis is a chronic autoimmune skin disease in which the immune system mistakenly speeds up the production of new skin cells, so they pile up on the surface as thick, red plaques with silvery-white scales, typically on elbows, knees and scalp. It comes in waves of flares and quiet periods and can be triggered or worsened by stress, infections, certain medications and cold.

Plants and herbs that help

Aloe vera, A cream with 0.5% aloe can reduce redness and scaling; evidence is moderate.
Turmeric (curcumin), Curcumin was shown in a 2018 study to reduce flares, but large clinical trials are lacking.
Oats, Same anti-itch effect as with eczema.

Recipes

Drink

Golden milk

Golden milk is an Indian evening ritual more than it is medicine, and that is part of why it works. You stand in the kitchen, stir a pan, and drink it warm while the house settles. The most important thing in the recipe is the part that looks most trivial: the pinch of black pepper. Turmeric is barely absorbed on its own, but with pepper the absorption rises dramatically. Without the pepper it is a yellow milk. The fat in the milk does the same. Curcumin is fat-soluble, so a full-fat milk works better than a skimmed one.

10 minutesEasy

Salve

Aloe vera & turmeric gel

Psoriasis plaques itch, tighten and crack, and what helps is rarely one thing but two working from different directions. Aloe vera lays moisture and calm on the surface. Turmeric goes after the inflammation beneath it. It is a modest little gel you stir together in thirty seconds. It cures nothing, and it is not meant to. It makes the skin less angry while you live with something that comes and goes. A practical warning: turmeric stains everything yellow. Towels, nails, bathroom grout. Use the dark towels.

8 minutesEasy

Bath

Oat bath

Colloidal oatmeal is one of the few things in the whole apothecary that dermatologists themselves recommend. It appears in international guidelines for atopic eczema, and it is the same oats you have in the cupboard. They simply need grinding fine enough to stay suspended in the water instead of sinking. Test it with a glass of water: if the oats are fine enough, the water turns milky white and cloudy. If you can see grains settling, blend further. And then there is something just as important as the bath itself, which almost nobody is told: Make sure that you have your moisturiser ready next to the tub before you get in You have about three minutes from getting out before the skin begins drying again. Moisturise yourself, and you lock the water in. Wait until you have dried off and found clothes, and you have lost most of the benefit. Lukewarm water, not hot. Hot water feels wonderful on itching for thirty seconds and makes the eczema worse afterwards.

20 minutesEasy

Warning

Apple cider vinegar is not recommended on cracked or very irritated skin, there is no evidence of benefit, and the acid can worsen irritation.

The content here is general knowledge and folk herbal lore, not medical treatment. In illness, pregnancy, breastfeeding or alongside medication: always talk to your doctor first.