If you have nail psoriasis, it’s important to protect your nails. Anything that dries or damages your nails can cause nail psoriasis to worsen or flare up. To help patients get the most out of nail psoriasis treatment and reduce flare-ups, dermatologists recommend the following:
Keep your nails short.
This will help prevent nails from growing off your fingers and toes. It can also help prevent nail fungus, a common problem with nail psoriasis.
Wear gloves when doing any physical work.
This includes housework, gardening, and landscaping. Psoriasis attacks when you scratch your skin or nails. It’s best to wear cotton gloves when doing wet work, such as washing dishes, and then put on plastic or nitrile gloves over the cotton gloves. Latex gloves don’t provide enough protection for your nails.
Psoriasis can dry out your skin and nails.
Applying a moisturizer after each hand wash and within three minutes of showering can help balance moisture levels. A thick cream or lotion works best.
Leave your cuticles alone.
Cutting or pushing back the cuticles can damage the skin or cause infection. Psoriasis can occur when a person with psoriasis injures their skin or gets a skin infection.
This reaction is called the Kobner phenomenon.
It can also damage your skin and increase your risk of infection. Injury to the skin or infection of the nails can make psoriasis worse. Need help stopping biting your nails? Read on to find out what dermatologists recommend: How to stop biting your nails
Resist the urge to scrape the buildup from under your nails.
Removing the buildup can loosen the nail and increase the risk of infection. With treatment, the buildup will gradually disappear.
Skip the nails.
Nail polish and nail polish are fine and are a good way to hide the pits (nail holes) that will appear when you have nail psoriasis. However, artificial nails increase the risk of the nail separating from the finger, a common problem with nail psoriasis.
When you combine your nail psoriasis treatment with recommended nail treatments, you will see improvement.