Role of homoeopathic medicine in the management of psoriasis

Abstract

Introduction: Psoriasis is a common chronic, recurrent, immune-mediated disease, where plaque-type psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis show 90 % and 7% prevalence, respectively. It is a cosmetically expressed condition that impacts the individual and the family, thus affecting quality of life. It impacts the physical, emotional and psychosocial well-being of the sick individual. It accounts for up to 3% of the World’s population. Although this condition is not life-threatening, it is challenging to treat due to the lack of established causative factors. Conventional medicine offers long-term treatment with a short-term benefit to patients with psoriasis, resulting in discontinued treatment by the patients. Case Summary: A 46-year-old male presenting with psoriasis was treated with homoeopathic similimum Arsenicum album and intercurrent remedy X-ray. The periodical assessment of the treatment was done before and after the treatment and using the PASI score to ascertain the prognosis. As psoriasis is a chronic and recurrent condition, the severity index shows changes over 11 months with slight aggravation in the lesion at the beginning of winter. The Modified Naranjo Criteria for Homoeopathy (MONARCH) tool was used and a score of +9 suggested a possible causal attribution between the intervention and outcome. The above assessment was strengthened with pictographic evidence. This case report reinforces the role of Homoeopathy in the management of psoriasis using a homoeopathic similimum and an intercurrent remedy.