Nearly eight million people in the United States have a mild to severe form of the condition.
Psoriasis skin cells mature in three to four days. Normal skin cells take nearly a month to mature.
Psoriasis rashes are not contagious like impetigo or scabies. The condition cannot be transmitted from person to person. The sores are not infectious or open wounds.
Psoriasis affects men, women, boys, girls, Asians, Africans, Europeans, Americans and Pacific Islanders. There is no known division among age groups, genders or ethnicities.
Between one-third and one-half of people with the disease also suffer from psoriatic arthritis. Stiffness and inflammation occurs in the back, neck, knees, ankles, toes and fingers.
The five main types of psoriasis are inflamed and scaly plaques, dotted guttate, blister-like pustular, fold-inflamed inverse and burn-like erythrodermic. The easiest way to identify the disease is to look at pictures.
Children who have two parents with psoriasis are five times more likely to develop the disease than children with only one parent with psoriasis.
Sources:
International Federation of Psoriasis Associations.
National Psoriasis Foundation.
Universal Body Health.
U.S. News and World Report.
