Psoriasis. How to keep mild disease from becoming severe

Progress in care of mild psoriasis has been slight. Good, practical therapy of mild disease emphasizes organization of and strict compliance to well-known therapies rather than use of new therapies. Of greatest importance is prevention of disabling severe disease. For severe psoriasis, which occurs infrequently, care is best assigned to dermatologists with special experience. Advances in oncology, bacteriology, and photobiology have led to new and effective treatments for severe disease. Because psoriasis is so poorly understood, physicians should be restrained from making claims about its causes and aggravating influences. Every affected patient deserves to be thoroughly informed about the disease and helped to obtain independence through an inexpensive therapeutic regimen that can be adapted to his or her job, income level, and lifestyle. There is no simple cure for psoriasis today.