When are oral or injectable drugs better for psoriasis?

Sometimes, a psoriasis flare up covers a large part of the skin or lasts a long time. Dermatologist Melissa Levin, MD, explains that in these cases, your doctor may prescribe a systemic treatment to relieve psoriasis symptoms.

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All systemic medications, whether they're oral, or they're injectables, are really involving your body's immune system

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because psoriasis is a chronic inflammatory condition. [MUSIC PLAYING]

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For some patients, topical creams or ointments alone aren't enough to treat their psoriasis. So even if you're using a cream and an ointment,

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and you still have persistent psoriasis on your skin, you may be a candidate for an oral or injectable medication.

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Another type of patient that may need a systemic medication is a patient that has psoriasis involving many parts of the body.

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Also, sometimes too much of the skin is involved. And it can be very difficult to actually apply a cream or an ointment to the entire body.

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This makes it so that systemic medication, whether it's an oral or an injectable medication, an easier and more effective way to treat your psoriasis.

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All systemic medications, whether they're oral, or they're injectables, are really involving your body's immune system

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because psoriasis is a chronic inflammatory condition. It's important to understand that while systemic medications

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can be very effective, there's also side effects involved with oral and injectable medications. It's important to know the risks and the benefits

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of different oral and injectable medications in order to determine what is the best medicine for you and your psoriasis.