Guttate Erupted After Strep Throat
from Trevis G.

Hello.  I'm desperately searching the web having been diagnosed with guttate P on Saturday.  I had a horrendous case of strep throat approx 1 1/2 months ago and then spent a couple of weeks wondering why I was the only member of my household being attacked by bugs. 

I'm 29, with 3 daughters, and have never had any skin issues.  Presently I have spots from my toes to my rear end, from my hands to my shoulders and sparingly on my face and torso.  I'm scheduled for UVB therapy this Friday. 

I've found info saying this [guttate] will turn into plaque P and sparingly, info that says there's a chance it could go away permanently.  Should I brace myself for the worst or is there really a chance this could be cured?  I'm planning on having my tonsils removed and am taking tons of vitamins — C, E, some A and D, and Omega 3 — thinking that if I throw everything at it right away I can make it disappear.  I'm starting to panic.

Advice?  How the *#$% is somebody supposed to reduce stress that will only make it worse when they're getting covered in spots?

What should I do now?

Thank you, -Trevis G.

*****

Ed’s Response:  Trevis, you’re doing about all you can.  By the time you read this you should have been on your UVB therapy for a few weeks.  I hope it’s done some good.

But if it doesn’t clear up fast, whether or not your Guttate metamorphoses into the plaque variety, rest assured that you haven’t thrown everything at it.  There are a host of meds and treatments available these days for P and chances are very good that you will discover one or several that work well for you.

Just where your P will go from here is a mystery to everyone.  Those possibilities you mentioned — guttate turning to plaque, perhaps everything going away — are real and with precedent.  For some, the case of strep throat triggers a lifetime of P that waxes and wanes as it does for most of us.  You will have to wait and see.

The chances are good, though, that you won’t have to live with the symptoms for very many years.  We have about twice as many meds and treatments for P as we did a mere decade ago, and we are just on the cusp of what many believe will be real breakthroughs in a new category of drugs called biologics. 

Progress is being made and you owe it to yourself to keep up with what’s happening.  Join the National Psoriasis Foundation.  (You can do it on line, here.) 

In the meantime, I hope you’ll stay in touch and let us know what you find that works and doesn’t.

Good luck!  -Ed

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