psoriasis flakes?

[trc1962]

Hi to all. I have dealt off and on with seborrheic dermatitis on my scalp for quite a few years. It usually causes some itch, burn and dandruff, but knowing how to treat it has helped it almost be non existent. Lately though I get a tiny spot on the front of my scalp that feels kind of rough - no flaking though and no itching but every couple of weeks or so I can pick the area with my fingernail and have a single large flake like thing come off. It is not greasy and it is hard and white and I just wonder what it is. Anybody with psoriasis think this sounds like what you deal with? I have been on prednisone for almost a year and am now down to 6 mg and have returned to being histamine intolerant (so not fun) and wonder if that plays a role? Just curious if anyone else deals with this and know what it is. Thanks.

[eye2dry]

I had a spot on my forehead/scalp front similar to yours years ago.
However, when I picked my flake off, it was pink and it ended up being
a basal cell skin cancer.

As you well know, if you would have psoriasis....the prednisone
will tamp down the itching and scales.

Long term use has many negative side effects with the prednisone,
with the skin it can cause thinning.

guess you'll have to see your GP to be sure.

take care.
shelly

[trc1962]

Yes the prednisone long term is very bad but glad I am down to 6 mg and tapering every 4 days. The prednisone did give me a break from the low histamine diet as I thought it would, but am behaving now as I must. I will ask the gp to take a look at my scalp next time I am in to see him - probably just another one of those "who knows" autoimmune things and I can live with this little thing. Thanks.

[cccourt1942]

I don't have plaque psoriasis, which I believe is the type you are attempting to apply to your "spot."  I have a type called guttate psoriasis.  Though it's aggravating, not anything like my mother suffered with plaque type. 

With plaque, you will have more than one spot in your scalp.  Since you have state you have seborrheic keratosis.  That is what is in your scalp.  I have had them for decades.  The curse of fair, w' red types of complexion.  The reason one can get larger is we don't see or feel them.  Mine have never itched..for that matter, the psoriasis patches haven't either.  You can have the one on your head frozen off, but more than likely will come back.  I've had one frozen off probably 4 to 5 times.  You can scratch them and the top layer will flake, but it serves no real purpose unless it is just bothering you. 

I do know since I started LDP my psoriasis has subsided dramatically.  I will say I stopped working at 72---so maybe that helped as well.   

Also, I have never had dandruff due to either.  My mom had flaking from her head, but plaque psoriasis will usually get more solid around the hairline...so whenever hair is brushed or combed, the psoriasis itself can break apart.  It's not dandruff though.

Hope this helps.

ccc

[irish]

I think Selsun Blue shampoo is what the doctor ordered for this type of dermatitis when I was nursing. Also, it is recommended that the scalp has oil applied and left to soak for a while before shampooing.

Take a cotton ball and use apply oil to the scalp. Some people will wrap the head with a small towel and place a plastic shower cap overnight. The type of oil used is up to you. Baby oil can be used but that has an odor so might be hard for some people to tolerate. Otherwise olive oil or even corn oil, etc can be used. Shampoo the hair after you soak your head and it may take several shampoos to clear up the scalp. The oil doesn't have to be used every time. Irish

[trc1962]

As I have dealt with the dermatitis for years I have found that nizoral shampoo keeps my scalp fairly clean, T-Sal also helps but head and shoulders doesn't. Maybe the new hard flake stuff is related to coming off the prednisone or at least getting to a low dose...then the inflammation reappears. My face and forehead are bothering me a lot. I got an herbal mint tea (never any caffeine or it makes things unbearable) at Starbucks and after a few sips my forehead and scalp were in agony. I wish we didn't have to play detective, but I have since 2003 when it all began - and my autoimmune neuropathy appeared. Are they related? I am sure they are as they arrived about the time, but the dr's don't think so. Eating low histamine helps me but as a foodie it is not a fun way to eat. Thanks for the good ideas. I will report back if I figure this out (or a dr. does). My feet have been awful too, they get red and very hot and itchy and it happens to my hands as well.

[trc1962]

Reporting back that after eating foods low in histamine (very challenging) the flake stuff is not there. However, the deep flushing is still very bad. I was in a meeting and the room was warm and I could hardly stand the pain in my face. Well, at least I am not peeling flakes off my scalp...sometimes I guess we just have to be thankful for small things. My rhuemmy wants me to see another dr. in Seattle who specializes in mast cell issues and maybe that will help. One never knows with autoimmune issues what might pop up from day to day.

[cccourt1942]

trc: I have guttate psoriasis which is an aggravation and has been unsightly at various times in my life---and somehow seems to have disappeared at present.  I think it had to do with my being completely retired and no longer in a regular schedule.  The rheumatologist I see told me psoriasis itself can go into a type of dormant period ==at times---for some people.  I had the outbreaks about 25 years. 

About 15 years prior to the dx, I saw the dermatologist regularly for freezing the sebhorreic  keratoses off my face, under my breasts AND a few spots in my head==not at the hairline.

Even with the thick, large spots in my head, nothing ever flaked.  Too resistant.

My mother had plaque psoriasis--the type about which I believe you are asking.  Hers would flake...but it was more (thicker) than "flakes".  Plaque psoriasis sufferers must wash/treat their scalp psoriasis daily with a smelly (to me) treatment.  She died at 70...and her psoriasis aggravated her less as she got older.  Now that I have the AI conditions...and understand them a titch, I can see when one lives with them, one becomes accustomed to them with each year. 

I like what Irish suggested.  You can also ask your derma to freeze the one at your hairline if it bothers you enough. I will tell you this (as the derma will tell you) it WILL come back. (the ones in your scalp that is)  A few times they took longer to come back, and every once in awhile I would think they were gone.  After a couple of years...would reappear, etc.   

Hope this helps:
ccc

[helloz]

i didnt have your symptoms exactly but had itching burning scalp for a lot of years - i got a water softener and it is not an issue for me anymore, unless i stay somewhere else for a while without a water softener.  probably wouldnt work for everyone but worked for me.

[quietdynamics]

I get flaking and red patches on my forehead, which can go back into my hairline.
I actually cut bangs to cover it years ago.
A visit to dermatologist is on my to do list.

Selsum Blue really calmed it in hairline/scalp.. so I started washing my face with is as well in shower. I use a cloth or a soft scrub mitten to exfoliate my face and body in shower. After a shower flakes will be gone and the red patches will abate (they can really show up after warm shower and then gentle exfoliate). I also have signs of rosacea on face (and Dx of ocular roseacea).

I saw when I began Methotrexate that the forehead flakes and redness was gone. Since with this med it is taken once a week, in my case around day 4 the flakes and redness started back. Metx was increased, however my liver enzymes went up a bit.. so back down with med or consider taking it by injection.  During winter to get vaccination for flu I needed to stop MethX ... so a crash for awhile, this time when restarted my forehead has stayed clear.
I did just recently find a Ponds hydrating cream which I like. I cannot use it near my eyes, as they are so sensitive. But, can see the hydrating does work. Sometimes after putting on light foundation my skin will look dry.. and I can lightly pat some Ponds right on top.

Systemic Medications: Methotrexate. Approved by the FDA in the 1970s for treatment of severe psoriasis, methotrexate was initially used to treat cancer. In a person with psoriasis, methotrexate binds to and inhibits an enzyme involved in the rapid growth of skin cells and slows down their growth rate.
Systemic medication: Methotrexate | National Psoriasis Foundation
https://www.psoriasis.org/about-psoriasis/treatments/systemics/methotrexate