They also look for changes in your fingernails.
Your family and medical history are also essential.
Seeking an early diagnosis allows you to gettreatmentthat may prevent complications like psoriatic arthritis.
Illustration by Verywell
Learning about these symptoms helps your provider confirm your diagnosis.
There are several types of psoriasis and some can causesymptomsthat affect more than your skin.
Your provider will want to know if youve experienced flares or remission.
Get our printable guide for your next doctor’s appointment to help you ask the right questions.
Nail exam
Your provider will examine your nails, looking for thickening or yellowing.
They also check for pain and tenderness.
Joint exam
Nearly one-third of people with psoriasis develop inflammatory arthritis.
Your provider will assess your joints, looking for swelling, pain, and stiffness.
Skin Biopsy
Rashes can develop for many different reasons.
This procedure is done in the doctor’s office with alocal anestheticto numb the skin.
The tissue sample is stained with a blue dye calledhematoxylin-eosin.
This helps the skin cells stand out when your provider views the biopsy under the microscope.
With psoriasis, the skin cells appear dense and compact (acanthotic).
Take note of any treatments or illnesses that took place around the time of your flares as well.
It often develops after a bacterial or viral infection, likestrep throatorchickenpox.
This pop in most often develops in skin folds like your underarms, under breasts, and buttocks.
The pustules may stay on your hands and feet or cover most of your body.
Erythrodermic Psoriasis
This is a rare pop in of psoriasis causing intense redness and skin shedding.
It affects nearly the entire body and can be life threatening.
Symptoms on your head, arms, trunk, and legs are all assessed visually.
No special tools or tests are needed.
Each symptom on each of these body parts is given a value.
The values are then added up to get a final PASI score.
The higher the value, the more severe your condition.
Differential Diagnoses
Many skin and health conditions cause symptoms that look like psoriasis.
This process is known as adifferential diagnosis(DDx).
Conditions that can mimic psoriasis include:
Does Psoriasis Have Stages?
Tiny bumps are often the earliest sign of psoriasis.
As the bumps grow, they develop scales.
However, each person has a different experience.
Your first flare-up may be mild or severe.
Psoriasis may stay the same or keep getting worse but it doesnt go through specific stages.
Medications taken by mouth or injected contain more potent drugs to fight inflammation and itching and control skin growth.
Todays advanced biologic medications are given through an intravenous (IV) infusion or injection.
These drugs precisely target specific immune activities.
Theres currently no cure for this challenging condition.
However, research is ongoing and medical experts continuously develop new medications as they search for a cure.
The treatments available today can put your symptoms into remission for months or years.
Summary
Most dermatologists can tell if you have psoriasis just by looking at your skin up close.
Many medical conditions cause skin symptoms that can look and feel like psoriasis.
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