Many people suffer from stress in their daily lives due to insomnia. Despite being given enough time and opportunity, they have major problems with the initiation and continuation of sleep. Also, I often wake up in the middle of my sleep.
The causes of insomnia can be divided into mental and physical factors. In particular, in the case of psoriasis, a chronic skin disease, it is considered a direct risk factor for insomnia. Psoriasis is a chronic skin disease in which red papules covered with silvery-white vinyl are continuously formed on parts of the body or throughout the body. At the time of onset, severe itching, bleeding, and discharge appear, which can drastically reduce the quality of sleep.
The cause of psoriasis has not yet been clearly identified. When psoriasis develops, exacerbation and improvement are repeated periodically, which causes the patient to experience great discomfort and pain in daily life. It can also cause psychological problems such as stress and depression. In particular, psoriasis can cause insomnia along with loss of appetite. Among other things, one should be wary of the link between insomnia and psoriasis.
Looking at the thesis titled ‘Treatments and Treatment Cases of Psoriasis Patients with Insomnia’ presented by Dr. Lee Gi-hoon and Yang Ji-eun of Gangnam-dong Medicine Clinic at the Korean Society of Oriental Medicine, the clinical aspects of patients who experienced insomnia and worsened psoriasis were remarkable. However, when the insomnia of a patient suffering from psoriasis symptoms was improved, the skin psoriasis symptoms were also improved.
In fact, when patients with exacerbated psoriatic dermatitis were prescribed herbal medicines to improve insomnia and treat psoriasis, the insomnia index (ISI) decreased from 27 before treatment to 2 following treatment. Psoriasis severity (PASI) significantly decreased from 15.2 before treatment to 1.2 following treatment.
In other words, as the body’s immune system is disturbed by psoriasis, it is easy to lead to a decrease in physical strength and immunity. Among them, insomnia is considered a major factor in aggravating psoriasis. Therefore, for patients whose psoriasis is aggravated by insomnia, a treatment method that improves both insomnia and psoriasis should be prepared. If you suffer from insomnia once more, psoriasis may recur, so it is important to maintain a correct lifestyle as well as making efforts for parallel treatment.
Director Lee Ki-hoon of Gangnam-dong Medicine Clinic said, “If you are a psoriasis patient who suffers from insomnia, you should increase the amount and quality of your sleep so that your skin can take enough rest.”
Dr. Yang Ji-eun of Gangnam-dong Medicine Clinic said, “If you make an accurate diagnosis in the early stages of psoriasis and establish and practice a systematic treatment plan, you can expect a positive treatment prognosis.”<도움말: 강남동약한의원 이기훈ㆍ양지은 박사>
