Psoriasis of the scalp

Definition

Psoriasis is an inflammatory skin disease that can affect various parts of the human skin. Characteristics are mostly the reddish, scaly character of the skin. Psoriasis can occur in different forms.

At the beginning, there may be only small reddish, scaly skin changes, but these can then spread over large areas of the body. Most patients who suffer from psoriasis suffer greatly from it, as it is not possible to cover up the conspicuous areas of skin, which can also often occur in the area of the face. Very often the affected persons are stigmatized. The disease progresses in relapses, whereby after the onset of the disease there is usually a basic infestation of the skin. Stress and other, as yet unknown factors can cause an intermittent increase in the inflammatory fields on the skin.

Causes of psoriasis of the scalp

Today it is known for sure that psoriasis is a so-called autoimmune disease. The body’s immune system does not recognize certain skin cells of the own body as its own and fights them. As a result, skin cells that are transported to the surface of the skin die off quickly.

Normal skin regeneration, which can take several weeks, takes place within a few days in a patient with psoriasis, which means that the exfoliated skin cells move very quickly to the skin surface and are deposited there. For this reason, the skin thickens very quickly and the skin plate formation, which is very typical for psoriasis, occurs. But why the own immune system classifies the skin cells as foreign and fights against them is still not clarified.

Another important cause of psoriasis is hereditary. It is assumed that the majority of psoriasis patients have inherited the disease from their closest family members. Under these circumstances, therefore, no influence can be exerted on the development of the disease.

About 2-3% of the European population is affected by the disease. In many cases, however, the disease progresses in weak phases and is not very pronounced. Only in a small percentage of cases a massive infestation occurs, mostly affecting the scalp and forehead of the patient. Other localizations are the arms, fingers and legs and parts of the back and trunk.