Skin conditions(Psoriasis)
Definitions of Skin conditions:
A disease affecting the skin
What causes Skin conditions?
Some of the possible causes of Skin conditions are included in the list below:
Detailed information about the causes of Skin conditions including medication causes and drug interaction causes can be found in our causes pages.
With a diagnosis...  [more]
... of Skin conditions, it is also important to consider whether there is an underlying condition causing Skin conditions. Underlying medical conditions are other medical conditions that may possibly cause Skin conditions.
Types of Skin conditions:
Subtypes of Skin conditions: Acne, Skin infection, Psoriasis, Skin rash, Dermatitis, Contact dermatitis, Atopic dermatitis, Eczema, Warts, Herpes zoster, Seborrheic keratosis, Skin tumor, Hair disorder, Hair follicle disorders, Herpes simplex, Vitiligo, Pityriasis rubra pilaris (PRP), Actinic keratosis, Albinism, Allergies, Alopecia Areata, Anthrax, Autoimmune Urticaria, Barber's rash, Behcet's Disease, Blue veins, Boil, Bullous Pemphigoid, Burns, Callus, Candidiasis, Carbuncle, Carotenemia, Cellulitis, Chilblain, Cold sores, Corns, Cradle Cap, Cutaneous Anthrax, Cutaneous diphtheria, Cutaneous mastocytosis, Dermatitis herpetiformis, Dermoid cyst, Discoid lupus erythematosus, Dry skin, Elephantiasis, Erythema, Erythema multiforme, Erythema nodosum, Erythrasma, Erythroderma, Erythromelalgia, Exfoliative dermatitis, Genital warts, Granuloma annulare, Hives, Human Papillomavirus, Ichthyosis, Impetigo, Incontinentia Pigmenti, Intertrigo, Jaundice, Kaposi's Sarcoma, Keratosis, Lichen planus, Lichen sclerosis, Lipoma, McCune-Albright Syndrome, Melanoma, Moles, Molluscum contagiosum, Mycosis fungoides, Necrotizing fasciitis, Neurodermatitis, Neurofibromatosis-1, Open Wound, Pemphigus, Pemphigus Foliaceus, Pemphigus Vulgaris, Photosensitivity, Porphyria, Reflex sympathetic dystrophy syndrome, Rhinophyma, Rosacea, Sarcoidosis, Scabies, Sclerodactyly, Scleroderma, Sebaceous cyst, Skin allergies, Sporotrichosis, Stevens-Johnson Syndrome, Tinea, Urticaria
Diagnosis
A skin biopsy (deep biopsy) is used to diagnose this condition.
Some signs and symptoms of the disease include:
Hardened masses on the skin, thickening and hardening of the skin and excess pigmentation. Skin changes may begin with red or dark patches or nodules. The skin may become shiny, feel "woody" and develop an orange peel appearance.
Inflammation and tightening of the skin.
Burning, itching or severe sharp pains in areas of involvement, typically the extremities or the trunk. The face is almost never involved.
Skin thickening that inhibits movement, resulting in permanent shortening of muscles, tendons or scar tissue. Patients may experience muscle weakness. Others may be unable to walk, or fully extend the joints of their arms, hands, legs, and feet.
Symmetrical skin lesions, with zones between the ankles and thighs most common, followed by the wrist and upper arms.
Hand and foot swelling with blisterlike lesions; yellow plaques in or near the eyes.
Pain in the hips and ribs.
Some patients with NFD have calcium abnormalities such as traumatic calcinosis cutis, osseous metaplasia, calciphylaxis and metastatic calcification -- which involve depositing of calcium into body tissues. These disorders are different than NFD, but can appear to be very similar, and, in some patients, can co-exist with NFD. Some patients with NFD experience blood clots and deep vein thrombosis and the disease is also associated with kidney transplant failure and rapid onset of kidney disease with swollen extremities.
Treatment Options
The following treatment options are available . Specific treatment decisions are based on each patient's condition.
Curettage and electrodesiccation
After scraping away most of a growth with a long thin instrument (curette), physicians use a mild electronic current to destroy any remaining abnormal cells. This simple, quick procedure is commonly used to treat small basal or squamous cell cancers.
Freezing (cryosurgery)
Small, early stage cancers can be destroyed by freezing them with liquid nitrogen. This treatment can normally be performed in a physician's office.
Photodynamic therapy
This treatment destroys skin cancer cells with a combination of laser light and drugs that sensitize cancer cells to light. The treatment is currently used on precancerous skin lesions and small skin cancers.
Laser therapy
Superficial skin cancers can often be treated with an intense beam of light (laser) that dissolves growths with minimal bleeding.
Advanced Skin Cancer
For more advanced skin cancer, treatment often includes:
Mohs surgery
For large lesions, recurring cases, or skin cancer on the face, Mohs surgery may offer optimal results. The physician will remove the skin growth layer by layer. Each layer will be examined under the microscope, and removal of layers will continue until no abnormal cells remain. This treatment has the highest cure rate of any skin cancer treatment, and is especially useful for areas of the body that have a high recurrence rate (eyelids, ears, nose, mouth). Annually, the highly trained dermatologic surgeons at Mayo Clinic perform more than 2,000 Mohs surgeries for patients with nonmelanoma skin cancer.
Surgical excision
Possible for any type of skin cancer, the procedure may be performed in the outpatient or inpatient setting depending on the extent of the cancer's spread. Cancerous tissue, along with a margin of healthy tissue, is cut out (excised) in this procedure. Reconstruction and skin grafting may be part of this treatment if the cancerous tumor is on the head or neck.
Radiation therapy
Radiation therapy is appropriate for some patients with skin cancer and can result in very high cure rates.
Chemotherapy
Anticancer pills or intravenous medication may be used for severe cancer that has invaded parts of the body beyond the skin.
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