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Dr. Andrew Rynne
MD
Dr. Andrew Rynne

Family Physician

Exp 50 years

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How To Treat Psoriasis?

hello Sir..
i have been diagonised to have psoriosis and i have been given a tablet Melanocyl. when i browsed in the internet, there are few sites that says it has side effects. is it advisable to take that tablet or should i go for another?

kindly advice.
Thanks
posted on Fri, 14 Mar 2014
Twitter Mon, 12 May 2014 Answered on
Twitter Tue, 13 May 2014 Last reviewed on
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Dermatologist 's  Response
Hello and welcome to healthcaremagic

Psoriasis is an inflammatory skin disease characterised by well defined erythematous scaly plaques with silvery white or candle wax type of scaling. Chronic plaque psoriasis is the most common type. It can affect sites like scalp, arms, and legs, (specifically elbows and knees), palms and soles etc

The disease has a chronic course and there topical creams/ointments/gels/lotions etc as well as oral and injectable medicines which can treat psoriasis but there is no permanent cure for psoriasis.

Melanocyl is an oral Psoralen, 8-Methoxypsoralen, which is taken at least 2 hours prior to sun-exposure OR UV A exposure in a chamber. It is a very effective drug for treatment of psoriasis along with UV A exposure known as photchemotherapy and has been used for years. I would suggest that you continue with it.

However, it can cause minor side effects mostly related to GI System: Nausea, vomiting, Elevated Liver enzymes etc,

Ocular side effects like: Cataract (can be avoided by covering the eyes during UV A exposure)

Cutaneous side effects like: Pruritus, Solar lentigines and rarely serious side effects Skin cancer (Squamous cell carcinoma) etc. Skin cancer is rare and depends on the total cummulative UV A exposure (with more than 200Joules lifetime exposure increasing the chances of cancer development). The risk of skin cancer is reduced by simultaneous use of oral retinoid:acitretin.

regards
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How To Treat Psoriasis?

Hello and welcome to healthcaremagic Psoriasis is an inflammatory skin disease characterised by well defined erythematous scaly plaques with silvery white or candle wax type of scaling. Chronic plaque psoriasis is the most common type. It can affect sites like scalp, arms, and legs, (specifically elbows and knees), palms and soles etc The disease has a chronic course and there topical creams/ointments/gels/lotions etc as well as oral and injectable medicines which can treat psoriasis but there is no permanent cure for psoriasis. Melanocyl is an oral Psoralen, 8-Methoxypsoralen, which is taken at least 2 hours prior to sun-exposure OR UV A exposure in a chamber. It is a very effective drug for treatment of psoriasis along with UV A exposure known as photchemotherapy and has been used for years. I would suggest that you continue with it. However, it can cause minor side effects mostly related to GI System: Nausea, vomiting, Elevated Liver enzymes etc, Ocular side effects like: Cataract (can be avoided by covering the eyes during UV A exposure) Cutaneous side effects like: Pruritus, Solar lentigines and rarely serious side effects Skin cancer (Squamous cell carcinoma) etc. Skin cancer is rare and depends on the total cummulative UV A exposure (with more than 200Joules lifetime exposure increasing the chances of cancer development). The risk of skin cancer is reduced by simultaneous use of oral retinoid:acitretin. regards