Nails can also get affected by Psoriasis. Affected nails can become very deformed that can lead to embarrassment of the victim.

Causes of Nail Psoriasis:

Nail plate under the cuticle is the area from where nails grow. It is involvement of the nail plate that causes ridging and pitting of the nails. Disease of the nail bed causes splinter hameorrhages, sub-ungual hyperkeratosis, and onycholysis. Rare;u.

Nail Psoriasis Symptoms:

They include:

• Onycholysis

• Pitting of the nails

• Sub-ungual hyperkeratosis

Nail Psoriasis Treatments:

Modified dead skin cells form the nail, which is totally inert. Therefore, it is in the onycholytic nail to the nail bed or the nail plate itself to which any treatment must be directed. However, nail psoriasis is considered by many the most difficult part of psoriasis to treat.

The treatments include:

Steroids shots that are given under the nail: This method is extremely painful and it has been observed that it does not work in general.

Topical steroids that are rubbed into the cuticle: The nail plate is under the cuticle and by massaging steroid creams into the nail plate you can induce some improvement in nail psoriasis.

Removal of the nail: By using a high concentration of urea applied under polythene occlusion to the nail nails can be removed quite painlessly. Nails can also be removed by X-ray therapy or they can be surgically removed.

Oral colloidal silicic acid: In Germany many patients take this by mouth mixed with orange juice. Improvement of the nails can be observed over a period of two or three months.