Psoriasis in the fall

The fall season can come with its unique challenges for people with psoriasis. Dermatologist Doris Day has some advice for you to control flare-ups and keep track of your specific triggers.

Transcript

00:00

Hi, Doctor. I love the fall, but something about the season definitely aggravates my psoriasis. What can I do to keep it under control during my favorite time

00:07

of year? [MUSIC PLAYING] Thanks for this question. I'm with you.

00:14

I love the fall, but the season definitely comes with its own unique challenges. Now I know the fall is sacred and we love it.

00:22

But if your fall is anything like mine, it's busy. We're getting outside while we still can.

00:28

We're enjoying the fall weather. And we have a whole bunch of holidays on top of all those things we normally have going on.

00:35

And I love the holidays, don't get me wrong. But even under the easiest circumstances, they can be a little bit stressful.

00:42

They're also not the times when we're taking the best possible care of ourselves and eating our healthiest. Keep in mind that your psoriasis is

00:50

one part of your overall health and the better you're able to take care of yourself in general, the more likely

00:57

you'll be able to control flare-ups, or at least keep track of your specific triggers. And this requires a holistic approach.

01:05

Your diet. Keep eating healthy foods and not just only go for the pumpkin pie, like I do.

01:12

Exercise. What kind of habits do you have in place to make sure you get some regular aerobic activity?

01:18

Then, your stress levels and your emotional health. That's so important as well. What do you do just for you?

01:25

How are you managing your stress? It's not about not having stress, it's how you manage it. When you put all of this together,

01:31

we become much more conscientious about our day-to-day habits and our day-to-day health. And as I mentioned, that's big because it

01:38

allows us to keep track of our flare-ups and gives us insight into anything specific that might trigger your psoriasis.

01:45

Maybe it's the increased time indoors, or any allergies you might have, or not getting quite as much sun as you did in the summer.

01:52

As a dermatologist, that makes me happy. But it can still be a trigger for psoriasis and it needs to be addressed.

01:58

So watch out for things like that as you maintain your overall health. The better you are at keeping track

02:04

of what affects your unique case, the better you and your health care providers can be at preventing and treating those flare-ups.