No where else to go to ask this.....

[Guest guest]

Hi All,

I know that this is for psoriatic arthritis, but I have no where else to ask

about this and I am hoping that someone here as an idea of what might help.

My seven year old has psoriasis and she and her friend got into some poison ivy

last week. It is a little bit here and there but on her stomach and the inside

of her left leg is really bad, mostly because she has scratched it. I am worried

about it turning into more psoriasis places (she has it on her nose and cheek

too). I did Calagel for one day, and since then I have been using her psoriasis

topicals instead.

What else can I do? I tried the aveeno bath too, but she won't hang in the tub

long enough to have it do anything. I was thinking of calling her ped in the

morning, but she is seeing a new dermatologist for the P and I am thinking they

won't give me advice over the phone and she doesn't get to see the derm until

thi saturday (and an hour away).

Any ideas?

[Guest guest]

Get some Calamine Lotion and apply it liberally to the affected area. Should

clear up in about a week. Good Luck

[Guest guest]

Hi ,

I'm not sure what is best, but I'd treat as if it were only poison ivy, THEN

worry about the psoriasis after the poison ivy clears.

My guess being that the poison ivy needs to be contained as best as possible to

get rid of it. While the psoriasis will be more stubborn.

Also, I doubt that the usual poison ivy remedies like calamine lotion will

adversely the psoriasis.

Good Luck!

[Guest guest]

,

Give Benadryl a try. Poison ivy is an allergic reaction and this should help

some.

Eileen

[Guest guest]

, it's worth a call to the pediatrician and maybe even to make an

appointment so he can actually check your daughter out. I am a nurse in a

pediatric clinic, and a call we frequently telephone triage during the summer

months is " my kid has poison ivy, what do I do? " A bad case of poison ivy can

last quite awhile if it's not treated, and it can become infected if she

scratches at it, and spread as well. It also could very well irritate her

psoriasis, the inflammation and scratching would aggravate it. She may need

about 3-5 days of oral steroids if it is spreading and worsening and not

improving, or she may need a 10-14 day course of oral antibiotics if it is

infected looking. I would hate for your child to become even worse while waiting

to get in with the derm. If I were your doctor's nurse and you called with this

question, I would tell you to make the appointment for a sick visit, and would

tell the secretaries to try and get you in that day. Certainly the physicians in

our practice, although they do refer to and strongly encourage the parents to

follow up with derm as soon as possible, if the child is really suffering they

do not hesitate to prescribe the oral steroids and antibiotics if needed until

the child is able to get in with the specialist. Good luck.

[Guest guest]

Derimutter1957,

Thank you for your advice, nice to know you work in a ped clinic, I may have to

ask you more later as I am watching her for psoriatic arthritis. I have had her

at a ped rheumy and she doesn't see anything yet, x-rays and a quick check of

her joints.

I did decide to take her to her ped, you must have ESP! She has a secondary

infection from the scratching and her stomach is horrible looking. When he told

her to lay down, one of the patches was raised up like a welt. He did give her

oral antibiotics and a steroid cream, he said he was thinking of giving her a

liquid steroid, but I told him no because I was afraid that when the meds were

gone, that she may end up with new places and bi flares. Was I right?

The cream is a substitute for Westcort.2%. Would I be wrong to sneak some on a

psoriasis patch? Just a question.

Anyway, thanks all for your help!

[Guest guest]

See how the topical steroid does. Is it 2 % or 0.2%? That will make a big

difference. Over the counter Cortaid comes in 0.5 and 1 %; 2 % is prescription

strength. Therefore if the Westcort is 2 %, it may be sufficient, but if it's

only 0.2 % I don't imagine it will do much. If she's not better (at least

showing SOME improvement, although I wouldn't expect it to be totally healed by

then) after using the antibiotics and steroid cream in about 48-72 hours, I

would check back with the pediatrician, because then you and he may wish to

reconsider the oral steroid option. Usually, a 3-5 day course of oral steroids

isn't going to give you any rebound flares once you stop; it's when you take

long-term steroids or high-dose steroids that you run into that.

As for using the cream on a psoriasis patch, it's your call. If the derm has

prescribed steroids for her in the past, I don't think it would hurt. However,

if she hasn't been prescribed steroid creams in the past, especially since

you're seeing a new derm, you may want to hold off. It would be best if the new

doctor saw the psoriasis patches prior to treatment in order to recommend the

best treatment and render the most accurate diagnosis possible. If you REALLY

feel strongly about trying the steroid cream on the psoriasis patch prior to the

derm appointment I would at least photograph the rash first. That way if the

steroids improve it, he can see how bad it was in the beginning. I have both

psoriasis AND eczema, so my derm sometimes has difficulty differentiating which

is flaring.

Good luck.

" " <mariamaul08@...> wrote:

He did give her oral antibiotics and a steroid cream, he said he was thinking of

giving her a liquid steroid, but I told him no because I was afraid that when

the meds were gone, that she may end up with new places and bi flares. Was I

right? The cream is a substitute for Westcort.2%. Would I be wrong to sneak some

on a psoriasis patch? Just a question.

[Guest guest]

It is .2%, so I guess that it won't do much.But Thank you for your help, I

really appreciate it.

<dreimutter1957@...> wrote:

>

> See how the topical steroid does. Is it 2 % or 0.2%? That will make a big

difference.

[Guest guest]

try vanicream soap and skin cream . Add 1 tube of over the counter cortizon

cream to 1 cup iof vanicream or vaseline,hydrolatum and mix witha spoon or

plastic fork . apply on ezczema or psoriasis . the vanicream works for both .

cathy from ma

[Guest guest]

Actually, , if it's prescription strength, it will probably help. If it's

over the counter, it's not likely to do a lot for serious psoriasis.

Joanna Hoelscher

_______________________________

From: <mariamaul08@...>

It is .2%, so I guess that it won't do much.But Thank you for your help, I

really appreciate it.