How can I stop my psoriasis or psoriatic arthritis from getting worse in winter?

Winter tends to be a difficult time of year for anyone suffering from psoriasis and/or psoriatic arthritis. Although it is a time of relaxation and feeding the body with warm nutritious meals, it can also be a time of increased skin eruptions and joint pain.

The difficulty is that the simple remedy of going out into the sun to receive the benefit of UV rays and Vitamin D on the skin cannot be utilised. Also, the warmth that will usually help stiff joints move more freely has suddenly disappeared. With these changes in the weather, it is common to feel depressed and frustrated about having to deal with this disease in the first place.

I understand this time of year can be challenging but there are many things you can do to minimise potential flare ups in your skin and joints. When these changes are incorporated throughout the year, you will notice that regardless of the time of year your body will be less reactive to environmental factors and the flare ups will be less frequent with reduced intensity.

The changes that are recommended in this video include dietary modifications that encourage a more alkaline body, enjoying baths with Dead Sea salts and colloidal oatmeal, and maintaining a regular relaxation technique such as meditation.

Thank you for watching and sharing your experiences, by doing so it highlights the similarities we share, minimising the need to isolate ourselves and feel shame.

Let us know what your experiences are during the winter. Do you feel better because you can cover your skin up and less people notice your condition, or is it a time of year where you expect flare ups to happen and feel there’s not much you can do?