Emotional well-being is just as crucial to quality of life as physical health. If you have an autoimmune condition, addressing your emotional health alongside your autoimmune condition may help you feel and function better.
One of the great things about the summertime is that the warm weather can often bring relief from the pain, patches, and dryness of psoriasis. However, there are still pitfalls for those who must manage their psoriasis in the summer months.
Drs. Nathaniel Neal and Rebekah Neal-Kraal, as well as the rest of us here at Valerius Medical Group & Research Center, understand the need for basic tips when it comes to dealing with psoriasis daily in the summertime, so here are our best ways to manage your condition — and to feel good and enjoy your summer.
Getting sun is a great way to help relieve your psoriasis during the warmer months. Try sunbathing each day for about 5-10 minutes, but don’t go beyond 15 because it could cause a sunburn, which can be bad for all of your skin, including your psoriasis patches.
A sunburn can even cause flare-ups, so make sure to wear sunscreen on every part of your body except the patches where your psoriasis occurs and by limiting your sun time to 15 minutes.
Being outside in the humidity is good for your psoriasis (even if it doesn’t help your hair!). Therefore, if you want to lessen the discomfort from your psoriasis, stay outside longer, especially during the cooler times of the day. Limit you sunlight exposure as we noted, but get outside when you can so your skin can enjoy that great humidity.
To enjoy the outdoors safely, make sure to stay hydrated by drinking plenty of water. If you do notice yourself sweating excessively or getting overheated, head back inside, as sweating too much can worsen your psoriasis symptoms.
Your skin can get drier in the summertime, even if you stay indoors. This is because being inside in air conditioning all day can actually suck all the moisture out of your skin. Make sure you use a heavy moisturizer at least once (sometimes twice) a day to make sure your skin doesn’t get drier than necessary.
Swimming in the ocean can actually be very good for your psoriasis. It helps to slough off any dead skin on your body, and the salt water is really good for the condition. Still, you need to make sure your skin doesn’t dry out too much or get burned, so remember: sunscreen, swim, dry off completely, and then use a mild moisturizer.
Light, airy clothes can keep you from sweating too much and from gathering sweat in places where your psoriasis could experience a flare-up. Make sure to protect yourself from the sun, but choose loose-fitting clothes rather than tight ones.
Despite all the good that summer can do for your psoriasis, it can also be a stressful time, which won’t help your condition. Whether it means having your kids suddenly at home all day, planning a big family picnic, or simply rushing around to meet your job’s demands in higher heat can all increase stress, which can lead to a flare-up.
Try to work on reducing stress this summer by cutting out some of the things that cause issues or by coming up with new ways to relieve the problem. After all, your health — both physical and mental — is the most important factor in being able to enjoy the summer months.
Do you have more questions for Drs. Neal and Neal-Kraal about how you can manage your condition? We would be happy to help you book an appointment at our Los Alamitos office today. Call 562-294-6533, or you can book an appointment on our website.
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