What Causes Psoriasis?

Skin Injury

Injuries to the skin, such as sunburn, excessive scratching, and skin inflammation can trigger the onset of psoriasis in individuals who have other pre-existing risk factors. This psoriasis trigger is associated the most with a type of psoriasis called plaque psoriasis. Cuts, burns, vaccinations, non-related skin conditions, bruises, bumps, medical procedures, sunburns, insect bites, and tattoos are all types of skin injury that can trigger a flare-up of psoriasis. The condition where psoriasis symptoms erupt at the site of an individual's skin injury is referred to as the Koebner phenomenon. These psoriatic lesions may develop on parts of the body where psoriasis does not traditionally occur. Around twenty-five percent of all individuals affected by psoriasis will experience the Koebner phenomenon. Each reaction that occurs as a result of skin injury takes a different course at a different pace. The psoriatic plaque that occurs in a patient due to a skin injury may develop between ten to twenty days following the injury, or it can take up to two years.

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Stress

Compounded levels of mental and emotional stress can trigger psoriasis to flare up or become worse. The combination of stress and psoriasis in an individual can produce a symptomatic inflammatory cycle that may be difficult to break. A psoriasis patient can experience a flare-up due to the hormonal fluctuations that occur in their body when it responds to any form of stress. The psoriatic flare-up in an individual initiated by stress hormones can produce further stress. Overactivation of the stress response in the body causes more inflammatory reactions and psoriatic flares. This cycle can produce the state of a constant flare. An individual affected by psoriasis has an immune system that is overactivated and hyperresponsive when stress hormones are deployed. This overactivation and hyperresponsiveness become misdirected to the skin, causing the formation of new psoriatic lesions. Furthermore, stress increases a psoriasis patient's risk of developing psoriatic arthritis, which is known to result in more stress.

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