Problematic Psoriasis Treatments Ive Tried

Over the years I’ve tried any number of therapies to remedy my psoriasis and eczema — with mixed results. Some psoriasis treatments were as easy as popping a couple of pills a day, while others required multiple trips to a hospital or clinic, gooey ointments that made a mess, or bitter homemade concoctions brewed with Chinese herbs.

Doctors can give instructions in a few minutes during a clinic appointment, write out a prescription or print out an article, and go on their way. Patients are left with the task of carrying out their doctors’ directives, no matter how time-consuming, energy-depleting, or uncomfortable they may be.

What follows are some of the most inconvenient and uncomfortable psoriasis treatments I’ve tried in my 40-plus years of living with this disease, plus my takeaway on whether they were worth it.

Coal Tar Treatments: The Smell of My Childhood

As a child I performed a nightly ritual involving liquid coal tar in Aquaphor ointment — a formulation compounded by the pharmacist — that I would apply all over my skin before bed. I can report that sleeping in greasy pajamas is quite unpleasant. I’ve also used bath solutions, soaps, and shampoos made with tar, staining my sheets, clothes, and even bathtub with brownish-black tar residue.

When I visited the La Brea Tar Pits in Los Angeles I told my kids, “That’s what my tar treatment used to smell like.” They wrinkled their noses at me. Whenever the asphalt on the street is coated with tar, I am transported back to those childhood days.

Anthralin Paste Treatment Dominated My Life for Weeks

After high school graduation, while my friends departed for exciting vacations, I drove to a relative’s house close to Stanford University. For six weeks, five days a week, I took a bus to a nearby daycare clinic for psoriasis treatment sessions lasting five to six hours each.

The schedule kicked off with scalp treatments, then progressed to the application of an anthralin paste on every psoriasis lesion on my body. (Anthralin is a man-made version of a natural substance found in goa powder, the dried sap of the Brazilian araroba tree.)

I wore pajamas over the paste and waited for hours, enduring a burning feeling as the paste did its work. Then I washed myself off, took a dose of ultraviolet light, and rode the bus back to the house where I was staying.

None of this was fun, but to make matters even worse, the nurse became impatient with me when my skin did not respond as quickly as expected.

Injections Required More Trips to the Hospital

A couple of treatments required me to go to the hospital for injections. Methotrexate pills upset my stomach for days after each dose, so my doctor thought I could inject it in my hip, as some cancer patients do. The injection hurt more than any other I had before, and, unfortunately, did not help my stomach or my psoriasis as much as hoped.

In the early 2000s, biologic treatments arrived on the scene. When one of the first, Amevive, came out, it needed to be administered intravenously in an oncology clinic. The treatment itself did not require a lot of time, but everything else took hours, including the travel, prep, and wait time afterward.

Diluted Bleach Baths Made Me Nervous at First

Once my dermatologist suggested I try taking a bath with diluted bleach as a therapy for the skin infections proliferating all over my body. Apparently, the immune-suppressing effects of the medications I was taking at the time left me vulnerable to staph skin infections. The unchecked bacteria were causing infections in my hair follicles (folliculitis) and exacerbating my eczema.

Since psoriasis medications had become my lifeline, I didn’t want to stop them just yet. But I felt reluctant to try the dilute bleach bath. Would it work? Would my skin dry out? What if I put too much bleach in?

When I finally tried a bath, I found it refreshing, and it did help with minimizing skin infections. Over time, though, preparing the bath and moisturizing afterwards began to feel like a lot of work. Eventually the treatment began to irritate my skin to the point where I needed to stop altogether.

Worth the Trouble?

For all the inconvenience and discomfort, some psoriasis treatments worked quite well for me for a time. I’m glad I tried others even if they ultimately weren’t effective, because then I knew I could rule them out as potential therapies and didn’t have to wonder “What if?”

Fortunately, treatments have come a long way since those days of using coal tar or anthralin paste. Now I can self-inject my biologic at home every eight weeks, and I have a home phototherapy unit that saves me hours of travel.

As imperfect as certain psoriasis treatments may be, I have no doubt I’ll keep trying them. They’re worth the trouble as long as they offer at least one thing: hope for relief.

The Latest in Psoriasis

Picking at Your Psoriasis Scales? Do This Instead

It’s tempting to peel and pick at those itchy scales, but if you can help it, there are better ways to cope.

What Black Patients Need To Know About The Effects of Psoriasis

Psoriasis can look differently on darker skin than on lighter skin — and knowing how to spot the symptoms is an important first step of the treatment ...

Ways to Protect Your Eye Health — and Preserve Your Vision — With Psoriasis

How to keep the skin condition from negatively impacting your vision.

7 Ways to Take the Stress Out of Your Next Hair Salon Visit if You Have Scalp Psoriasis

Scalp psoriasis symptoms can make a routine trip to the hair salon stressful. But with the right approach, you can have an easier visit — and a healthy...

Do You Need a COVID-19 Vaccine Booster if You Have Psoriasis?

Psoriasis drugs that work by suppressing the body’s immune response may raise the risk of COVID-19 complications. If you’re already immunized, can a booster...

Psoriasis Awareness: A 2021 Special Report

Psoriasis flares have been on the rise in 2021, according to a survey of ishonest readers who have the skin condition. Here’s what might be to ...

Psoriasis: How to Deal with Cracked, Bleeding Skin

Take these steps to heal your skin and avoid future fissures.

Your Psoriasis Diet: Best Foods for Spring and Summer

Ready to break out your favorite warm-weather recipes? Here are delicious anti- inflammatory ingredients you should consider using.

Read more on: skin, psoriasis, psoriasis treatment