How Clothing Can Affect Psoriasis?

If you're one with psoriasis, the simple act of getting dressed is not always so simple. Your clothing choices can affect more than just your style; they can actually help ease or exacerbate your symptoms.

For instance, certain types of clothing can aggravate skin irritation and flare-ups related to psoriasis, yet those with psoriasis often use clothing to mask symptoms. It can become a vicious circle if you aren’t careful.

Patients with psoriasis have very itchy, irritated, cracked dry plaques or areas of skin. As a consequence the skin will readily bleed. Because the skin is dry, cracked, and oozing at times, clothes will stick to the open areas, further contributing to the bleeding.

The good news is that there are things you can do, clothing-wise, to help manage the pain, bleeding, and discomfort associated with psoriasis. Consider these steps:

Choose cotton- Compared to other fabrics, cotton is less likely to irritate the skin or cause overheating. So try to wear lightweight cotton clothing next to your skin when possible, and avoid materials such as wool and synthetic fabrics. Synthetic clothes do not 'breathe' as much as cottons. Synthetic fabrics are a bit worse in part because they cause heat retention and also because they stick to the open areas.

Launder fragrance-free- Laundry detergent can also affect your psoriasis. It is recommended to use unscented detergents and fabric softeners. Sometimes scented products can aggravate psoriasis. Liquid detergents may be preferable to solid ones, as they dissolve better and detergent particles may be less likely to stick to clothing.

Go loose- Tight clothing can worsen the symptoms of psoriasis. Comfort is a very important issue for those with psoriasis. If an article of clothing is too tight, for example, and rubs on an existing lesion, it can cause more pain or irritate the sore. So choose looser clothing and undergarments when possible.

Wear light-colors to minimize the look of flakes- If you're concerned about skin flakes appearing on your clothing, remember that light colors and patterns typically hide flakes better than dark colors.

If you need to hide your psoriasis- A National Psoriasis Foundation survey found that 40 percent of patients reported choosing their clothing to hide their psoriasis. For days when you don’t want to deal with strangers’ reactions, wearing a long-sleeve shirt, full-length pants, and a strategically-placed scarf will reduce the number of unwanted stares. But be aware that covering up may contribute to heat retention, so choose fabrics wisely.

Also, keep in mind that as you're treating your skin condition, your comfort level with wearing different types of clothing may increase.