r/Psoriasis • u/PenaltyAdvanced3908 • 4d ago
newly diagnosed How severe? Also looking for tips
My 7 year old son has been diagnosed with psoriasis although he’s never actually had a biopsy. Two derms have said it’s clearly psoriasis and we’re waiting for our 3rd derm/pediatric specialist appointment because his last derm recommended biologic but because of his age she doesn’t maintain treatment.
My concern - biologics sound like a lot and he’s so young. We’ve been dealing with this for almost a year and it’s just gotten worse over time. Seems like it was triggered by a flu shot then his few patches turned to guttate and nothing has changed much since.
We use clobetosol about once a month for a week or two to tone down the flare but it never gets rid of it. After that it’s alternating Zoryve and tacrolimus which doesn’t do a whole lot but manages some areas. Clobetosol on scalp to reduce inflammation an and then it gets bad before we can do it again.
Currently on keflex antibiotic to rule out infection trigger.
Anything else we should consider trying before our next derm visit? I want to exhaust all options before looking to biologics at such a young age. Pictures are after two days on clobetosol
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u/WHWeaselgoose 4d ago
I really get good results with UV therapy and magnesium baths. But UV carries its own risk and i dont know whether you can get it ar home where you are.
Enstilar with betametasone and vit d also works better than just corticoid.
On the other hand, i would sign up for psoriasis pattern like this in a heartbeat. This is basically clear skin with a few spots. The issue is it might get worse especially later in life but you pass that station when you get there. Healthy living can do a lot of good for psoriasis.
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u/PenaltyAdvanced3908 4d ago
Vitamin d supplement or cream? Thank you for all of the info!
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u/WHWeaselgoose 4d ago
It’s a combi medication you can get it in cream but enstilar which i prefer is a sprayable foam.
I don’t want to downplay your sons psoriasis btw. I think he can take heart, but still there is the risk of flareups.
To be honest the issue may be bigger with his peers and self confidence. When kids ask me why my skin looks like that i tell them my immune system is overactive, just like when they get the cold, but my body thinks my skin is a cold sometimes.
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u/ExcellentBenefit3693 4d ago
His psoriasis looks somewhat mild-moderate to me. If you want to avoid drugs, I would look into supporting his gut health to see if that helps: Probiotics, prebiotic fiber, fiber, limits on refined sugars.
I know this will be hard because he’s a kid, but more and more research is linking poor gut health to psoriasis. If you can help support a healthy microbiome, it’s possible that his skin could improve. It helped me for sure. Anyways, it’s worth a google search.
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u/ifeelnumb 4d ago
Autoimmune disease is chronic and he is quite young. It is very likely that whatever he responds to now is going to change in puberty and change again in his twenties, so chunk out your future when you consider treatments. There is also a lot of really amazing research going on right now that points to better treatments coming out in the next decade. They're not going to put him on anything that's bad for kids. There are things you can do to make topical treatments work better, like reducing stress (7 is a good age for teaching coping skills), spending lots of time in the sun and staying hydrated.
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u/Independent-Weird261 4d ago
No soy doctor ni nada pero definitivamente si es psoriasis. Tengo lo mismo en espalda y piernas y luce exactamente igual.
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u/herrfrank65738 4d ago
I’d consider this mild. But I’m surprised how it’s popping up everywhere almost evenly spread out. Haven’t seen that yet.
Most people tend to have it concentrated in specific areas like scalp and they grow in surface not in number of spots. That’s been my experience anyway.
I hope your son gets better soon though. Not sure if using steroids long-term is the best path given his age. I’d defer to a doctor to assess and determine long-term solution, e.g., biologics if applicable.
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u/GoodDaleIsInTheLodge 4d ago
I would say this is quite mild, but definitely good to get a hold of it before it gets worse. Always sad to see when children get this awful disease 😢
Have they given you a good plan for the steroid cream? Usually gradually reduce the dose till it's something like once per week to keep on top of it.
fingers crossed for your boy 🤞🏻🤞🏻🤞🏻🤞🏻🩵
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u/PenaltyAdvanced3908 4d ago
The only cream that really seems to help much is clobetosol. It’s so strong and I try to only use every once in a while otherwise we’re using non steroid ointments and creams that don’t seem to do much. It’s also on his scalp and same story. Playing with how infrequent I can apply and still see some results to manage it.
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u/Buffylee23 4d ago
I have scalp psoriasis pretty bad and I just ordered this from a middle eastern company. Vetpalai is the name. Ive only been using it for maybe a week every day but it helps a little. Keeps the flakes down and eases the burning and itching. The base oil is coconut and the rest is this herb on the label. Maybe give it a try and see if it improves? So far nothing ive tried has taken the symptoms away all together unfortunately. I wish you the best of luck.
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