Psoriasis

Although psoriasis is classified by the international allopathic medical community as an autoimmune disease, with its immune mechanisms well described, in fact the main cause of this condition is influenced by a combination of multifactorial elements: a familial genetic predisposition, a trigger known as stress combined with at least one major metabolic dysfunction and possible problems in the digestive tract, as well as possible unsuspected / uninvestigated infectious foci. Other factors that can trigger the disease are accumulations of toxic substances in the body.

For this reason, no treatment with 'miraculous' external creams and solutions found on the shelves of pharmacies with marble floors and crystal display cases, recommended by authorities in the pharmaceutical or medical field or by 'influencers', as happens more and more often nowadays, can offer a set of improvements that are stable over time, nor can it guarantee predictable efficacy and a statistically stable prognosis that suppresses the dysfunctional foci of the disease.

Treatment of psoriasis through the Kozak Method has been applied across two generations of practice at the clinic — my father's and my own — to thousands of patients suffering from psoriasis in all its forms, without significant relapses in patients who follow all the recommendations. We have concluded that without intervening on the metabolic factor through diet, alongside internal and external medication, improvement is not possible, let alone a stable cure.

The merit of the Kozak method lies in the fact that, through anamnesis and analysis of the patient's clinical form, the possible causes within the multifactorial diagram that led to the onset and persistence of the disease are outlined; and if the patient follows all the instructions received, they have very good chances of substantial improvement or, as practice has shown, even the possibility of achieving a DEFINITIVE CURE.

In this regard, there have been patients in whom the condition never recurred afterwards and showed no relapses or other later signs of disease (for 30-40 years).

Experience has also shown that neither laboratory tests nor biopsies taken from the patient's diseased tissue provided sufficiently relevant information to subsequently configure the appropriate treatment.

Without the experience and competence of the attending physician, able to understand the entire ecosystem in which each patient lives, beyond the appearance of the lesions visible at the first medical visit, therapeutic success cannot be guaranteed.

Any seemingly 'minor' / insignificant piece of information provided by the patient can lead to a sometimes substantial reconfiguration of the entire treatment, which may in fact hold the key to success, namely a complete cure.

Types of psoriasis – location, symptoms

Psoriasis has a multisystem manifestation and can lead to the development of specific lesions of the skin, the joints, as well as the nails, the scalp and the intimate areas, through inflammation and the appearance of scales.

Depending on the type of lesions, the condition can be classified as follows:

• Plaque psoriasis (psoriasis vulgaris) – patients with this form of the disease present well-defined regions of reddish skin covered with white or yellow scales, appearing symmetrically on the elbows, knees, intergluteal area, scalp or thorax.
• Guttate psoriasis (droplet form) – evolves with the appearance of papular lesions shaped like water drops on the upper and lower limbs, trunk and scalp, with a predilection for females and especially for young people.
• Pustular psoriasis can manifest in a localised or generalised form, depending on the extent of the affected skin region.

Pustules localised on the palms and soles can cause locomotor and movement-coordination difficulties (difficult walking, cumbersome performance of activities involving the use of the hands) and social stigmatisation.

Generalised pustular psoriasis can be complicated by infection of multiple foci, a situation that can be life-threatening.

Associated symptoms may include fever, general fatigue, hydroelectrolyte disturbances, joint and pulmonary involvement, with a risk of acute respiratory failure.

Generalised pustular psoriasis with an unfavourable course has an abrupt onset, with deterioration of the patient's general condition, unintentional weight loss, chronic fatigue, fever above 40 °C, chills, loss of body hair and concurrent involvement of the mucous membranes.

In this situation, hospital admission and in-hospital monitoring are recommended, especially if the patient is pregnant.

• Erythrodermic psoriasis is the rarest form of this pathology, affecting approximately over 5% of patients. This form involves the whole skin, which presents generalised erythema, the skin losing its barrier function against external aggression factors. Like any generalised skin condition, the extensive lesions carry a risk of bacterial and fungal superinfection and of dehydration, favouring the appearance of significant hydro-electrolyte imbalances that put the patient at risk.
• Psoriatic arthritis causes painful inflammation of the joints of the upper and lower limbs. Joint involvement due to psoriasis affects between 5 and 30% of all patients diagnosed with this type of autoimmune pathology.
• Nail psoriasis manifests through discolouration and deformation of the nails, with the appearance of irregularities in the corneous layer that lead to the detachment and ultimately the loss of the nails. Often, this form of the disease is also accompanied by nail infection with bacteria and fungi.

Another classification of the disease can be made according to the location of the lesions, as follows:

• Erythemato-squamous lesions (white or yellow, crumbly crusts on irritated skin) on the scalp.
• On the cutaneous folds: mammary, inguinal, axillary, retroauricular (behind the ears), intergluteal and in the genital area.
• Palmoplantar psoriasis, which manifests through specific lesions on the palms and soles.
• Mucosal lesions can be recognised by the appearance of a geographic tongue, as well as of the nails with involvement of the matrix or nail bed, areas that are often superinfected.

Psoriatic arthritis or rheumatism manifests at the joint level and can cause symmetrical joint inflammation accompanied by synovitis, nail involvement and deforming arthropathies through shortening of the fingers, as a result of osteolysis (bone destruction) and bone resorption at the level of the phalanges.

• SEBO-PSORIASIS.

This form borrows the symptoms and signs of seborrheic dermatitis / eczema, as well as those of psoriasis. It also affects the patient's face, the perinasal area, the eyebrows, the intra-auricular and retroauricular area, as well as the base of the scalp and the nape.

Eczematised psoriasis.

'Classic' psoriasis does not cause itching / pruritus with strong discomfort for the patient.

In this type of psoriasis, pruritus (itching), mainly nocturnal, is the most important factor of discomfort, which can affect the quality of the patient's sleep and life over time.

One of the important factors in this case is the way the patient acclimatises / accustoms the skin to various internal stress factors (foods, drinks, hygiene products, etc.) and external ones (sunlight, heat, sauna, clothes made of synthetic materials, etc.); what matters is the quality and the quantity administered, as well as the length of exposure, whether short or longer, so that the body CANNOT manage that stress and triggers physical defence responses such as inflammation, erythema and pruritus, as well as other unpleasant symptoms appearing after a short time – minutes, tens of minutes or in the following days (usually 1-3 days) after exposure to the triggering factor.

Dr. Petre Kozak