FORT SMITH, Ark. — October 29, is World Psoriasis Day. A day to raise awareness about the disease that affects millions of people around the world.
5NEWS Daren Bobb spoke with a local dermatologist and a patient about how treatment for this disease has come a long way.
Psoriasis is a disease that affects your entire body. It develops when your immune system gets a little out of control.
Doctor Sandy Johnson with Johnson Dermatology in Fort Smith says it's more than just a skin rash.
"It can affect your joints, a third of people get psoriatic arthritis, and it can affect your heart where people have a higher risk of heart disease, obesity, liver problems, depression. Psoriasis is a serious condition that left untreated can cause a lot of more serious problems than just your skin having a rash."
Justin Boyd of Fort Smith has been living with the disease for a number of years.
"I had psoriasis on my legs just covered. And I mean, it was on my elbows and things. You just flake, it's red, it's scaly. People are like, 'Did you get into poison ivy?'" said Boyd.
Boyd says he also was diagnosed with psoriatic arthritis.
"It just kind of gets into your tendons and your feet and specifically and being a runner that was uncomfortable," said Boyd.
Doctor Johnson says over the last five years, there are so many new treatments available.
"Watch people get cured or clear of their skin as long as they're on their medicine, see them able to use their joints in their hands and their feet and not be crippled from their psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis. I mean, it is a wonderful time to be a dermatologist," said Doctor Johnson. "The people who have moderate to severe psoriasis, there are a lot more effective strategies to treat it now than there were in the past."
Boyd says thanks to the clinical trial he is in, his condition has completely changed.
"My skin is almost completely clear. I'm not having the joint pain, I just feel better look better," said Boyd.
Doctor Johnson says unlike in days past, you don't have to live with psoriasis.
"I hope that everybody who has psoriasis or a friend with psoriasis, or a family member with psoriasis, knows that there are great treatments, you do not have to suffer alone, that your dermatologist is here for you and wants to partner with you and want you to be clear of your psoriasis," said Doctor Johnson.
Doctor Johnson says the earlier you get diagnosed, the quicker a treatment plan can start.
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