Natural Remedies

Hello, i'm 35 years old and i've had psoriasis for about 5 years and although I have fair skin i've never had any skin related issues or conditions other than a bit of sunburn. Identifying the precise reason why i got psoriasis is unclear but like many it was probably triggered by stress and once i got it i've not been able to shift it. Generally, i am quite healthy going to the gym regularly, eating good food and making my own meals with the only bad thing i do being smoking and i don't have any other medical conditions. The psoriasis started on my calf with a large circular red patch which developed a hard, flaky skin and then spread to the top and back of my scalp and at the back of my ears. Initially, i ignored it thinking it was inflammation from a cut or some sort of infection but as it was only two relatively small areas and only moderately itchy i didn't do anything about it. When it persisted, i went to a GP who identified it as psoriasis and gave me a few tubes of Dovonex. This worked quite well and seemed to reduce the redness but didnt get rid of it altogether. I left it about another year and went back a GP who prescribed Dovonex again, a steroid solution for the scalp and a medicated shampoo. Again, this worked reasonably well for some time but didn't remove it completely. More recently, i was getting frustrated as the flaky skin looks likes dandruff when i scratch my head and this can be embarrassing. I've been caught many times when i look over my shoulder only to find a pile of flaky skin that's been sitting there for some time. I bought expensive anti-dandruff products thinking this was the issue but again they had little impact. So, after searching the condition i done a bit of research, found this website, read some of the forums and tried a few new approaches which, so far, seem to be working. My objective is to reduce the cause of the condition and improve the overall health of my skin to combat inflammation. For me, i think stress is the main factor so i have tried to reduce the levels of stress, get a better sleep pattern and will eventually sign for some yoga at some point...probably. In order to improve the skin, i bought vitamin D tablets and eat more ginger. Most people in the UK are deficient in vitamin D due to the weather, particularly during the winter months, and i think this is one of the main factors or possibly the main reason why the redness has reduced on the area on my calf. I also make a solution made with raw ginger and spices to take advantage of their anti-inflammatory effects which is similar to a 'hot toddy' without the whiskey or a lighter mulled wine however the inspiration was a ginger detox recipes. Essentially, its 500ml of water with 2 tbsp honey, an inch of ginger chopped, juice of a lemon and i normally add turmeric, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves to vary the flavour and again for the anti-inflammatory benefits. Bring it to the boil and cover and leave for 30 mins. I think the vitamin C from the lemon has helped my skin and it actually tastes quite good so i make up a batch and it normally lasts 2 days. I only started this a few weeks ago and there has been a quick impact with a noticeable reduction in the redness of the calf psoriasis and my scalp does appear to be less scaly however this is obviously quite difficult to examine. The areas are less itchy and there is less hard, scaly skin and fewer areas with scaly scabs. So, the vitamin supplements and spiced solution seem to be working so i will continue this for the next few months and write an update on the progress of the situation. I should also mention that i have virtually removed all red meat in my diet due to the inflammation and health benefits and reduced the amount of sugar as well however i started that over a month ago and didn't affect the psoriasis. Well, I know its been a long read but i hope this helped and possibly sparked a few ideas for any other remedies so If you have any other suggestions or successful remedies please let know. Thanks