Q:
A lot of psoriatics have found relief through treatments at the Dead Sea and other types of climatotherapy. How does this work?
A:
Ultraviolet light helps most people with psoriasis, so just being outdoors in the sun is definitely beneficial. Bathing in certain types of mineral baths or salt water can also be beneficial, but I'm not sure it's really been demonstrated how much of the effect is from the mineral or salt bath, compared to being outdoors. It's hard to separate the two unless you are bathing indoors in a dark room.
These types of treatments can be pretty expensive—but you can do it for free if you go to the ocean and expose yourself to the sunlight. Of course, in certain places, the sun is going to be more intense, depending how close you are to the equator. But whenever you expose your skin to the sun, you are taking the risk of causing skin to undergo mutations from the ultraviolet lights that may predispose you to skin cancer and aging, and it's something that people need to do judiciously and cautiously. The main thing is to not get overexposed and to not be in the sun to the point where your skin gets red. As long as you're careful, it can be done daily.
Q:
Have meditation and acupuncture been proven to relieve psoriasis?
A:
Meditation has; there was a 1998 study where they took a group of people and had them meditate while they were undergoing artificial ultraviolet light treatments. Their skin cleared four times faster than people who were not meditating but were getting the light treatments. Meditation and stress reduction are a very important part of natural treatment for psoriasis.
I really haven't studied the literature on acupuncture. I know that there is some evidence of the effectiveness of a Chinese herbal formula for psoriasis, but I'm not really sure how well psoriasis has responded to acupuncture treatment.
Q:
Is artificial light as effective as natural UV light?
A:
Both can be beneficial. Artificial light is a lot more controllable, but you can get overexposed doing that too. Usually the lights are intense and it's a shorter duration of time that you spend having the exposure, so it can be easier to control.
Q:
What is the best piece of advice you have for patients looking for alternative treatments for psoriasis?
A:
Work with a naturopathic physician who has knowledge of the condition and experience with it. If not a naturopathic doctor, definitely another integrative physician who can incorporate natural approaches into the treatment plan.
This is a condition that takes patience to get under long-lasting control without using some of the stronger medications from conventional medicine. You can’t look for a quick cure for it. There are genetic contributions to psoriasis and it takes a long time to change a person's internal environment so these genes don't get expressed so much. I think it's a condition that does respond well to natural medicine. With the combination of a knowledgeable physician and patience, you can achieve really good results.
