Psoriasis OTC Treatment:
Over the Counter Psoriasis Treatments

Finding an effective psoriasis OTC treatment can save you a lot of money, especially as no cure for psoriasis exists, only treatments for the symptoms. Over the counter, or OTC, treatments are those that are available from a drug store without needing a prescription from your doctor.

While you should exercise caution when taking drugs that you haven't discussed with your doctor first, any medicines for sale in a drug store will have gone through strict testing with documented side effects as are listed for headache or cold relief medicines.

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Soothing Psoriasis OTC Treatment

The most common types of psoriasis otc treatment are those containing coal tar and salicylic acid, which actively work on your immune system to stop the build up of new cells. However, in their OTC forms, they are not full strength, and you may find that you want to find stronger treatments that calm the symptoms.

The most common types of soothing psoriasis OTC treatment include:

• Hydrocortisone cream – Hydrocortisone is the go to OTC treatment for a wide variety of skin complaints and offers a strong moisturizing effect to affected areas. One of the main complaints of psoriasis sufferers is the dry skin that some of the medications cause. Hydrocortisone heals the dry skin and offers a small amount of pain relief from the inflamed areas.

• Oatmeal bath flakes – When you add oatmeal bath flakes to hot water, it does make something that looks like what you would eat for breakfast, but when you bathe in it, it provides an incredible amount of relief for dry and itchy skin. It is particularly effective on larger lesions as you submerge your whole body in the bath.

• Menthol spray – One of the main reason that you will find menthol in so many products is that it offers a mild anesthetic effect. The advantage of this psoriasis OTC treatment is you can use it for mild itching at times when you cannot apply a full layer of cream.

• Essential oils – Certain plant oils, also known as “essential oils” have been shown to have a positive impact on psoriasis. The most effective essential oils for psoriasis are: lavender, chamomile, rose, patchouli and tea tree oils.

Oral Treatments

Psoriasis on the neck

While it is natural to want a treatment that is going to eliminate the symptoms of psoriasis, you can access a whole range of over the counter medicines and foods that you take orally to help reduce the symptoms. By proactive behavior, you can reduce the amount of extra skin cells that your body produces as well as stopping some of the inflammation. Some oral treatments to try include:

• Oils – Most oils, such as omega-3, will help to reduce the amount of toxins in your blood stream. These toxins can cause infections as well as stimulating cell growth, which causes large amounts of plaque in psoriasis sufferers. You can buy oil in tablet or capsule form, or eat more low-fat dairy products that are high in omega-3.

• Apple cider vinegar – All purpose apple cider vinegar is used as both a rub or a food additive. If you apply it like a cream, you will need to be careful not to put too much on as it is quite acidic and while it will remove a lot of the extra skin cells, it can damage the unaffected areas nearby. As an oral medicine, apple cider vinegar can restore the balance of pH in your skin, which will help the natural sloughing process to cope with the extra cells.

• Capsaicin – You will find capsaicin in peppers and is the active ingredient that makes them taste hot. It acts as an anesthetic on your nerve endings, which reduce the itching caused by psoriasis.

Before trying any psoriasis OTC treatment, or even natural remedies, you should talk to your doctor as it could conflict with any other medication that you are currently taking.

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