Autoimmune Disease Awareness Month: Psoriasis.
Psoriasis affects 6.7 million Americans. When one thinks about Psoriasis, they don't automatically think that it is considered an autoimmune disorder. However, with the way Psoriasis impacts your system, it shows the characteristics of an autoimmune disorder. Here's how: When you have Psoriasis, your T-cells (specialized white blood cells) incorrectly identify the cells on your skin as invaders, and lodge an attack on them. This causes extensive damage to the skin cells, which causes a number of responses in your immune system. As a result, people with Psoriasis end up with visible damage on the skin, in the form of swelling, scaling, and reddening. In an attempt to heal the damage, the skin begins to rapidly reduce new skin cells. These skin cells try to push their way to the surface of the skin. Because the older skin cells aren't shed fast enough, they pile onto a person's skin surface. That's where you may see red, thick silvery scales on the surface of the...