Guttate psoriasis - or is it?

Hi John, Interestingly enough I have also been told in the last week by my GP that I probably have guttate psoriasis. I’ve been prescribed dovobet gel which is having some effect, but is not as successful as the clobetasol propionate which was prescribed when they were treating it as discoid eczema. I have differing symptoms all over my body, but on my hands the issue manifests itself as small spots which start out as tiny craters in the skin, which then progress to angry red bumps which feel like a sting. I also get this on my arms and legs. My back and body tends to get larger plaques / patches. I wasn’t aware that guttate psoriasis didn’t affect the hands. I’d be interested to know what your GP said when you mentioned that. For what it’s worth I don’t have any experience of the numbness that you mention. Cheers, Martin

Hi Martin Thanks for the very interesting response. I saw another GP yesterday who agreed that guttate psoriasis doesnt affect the hands. She reckoned it's eczema and, like you, has prescribed Clobetasol. Seems to be working quite well and the blotches are now well on the way to disappearing. She reckoned the numbness in the figertips is probably due simply to a temporary thickening of the skin - and I think she may be right - bits of dry skin have started to peel off and there seems to be some sensitivity there. The good "result" out of this is she's referring me to a dermatologist about this and my general plaque psoriasis. This, after the first GP pretty much saying there was no chance of an NHS referral and I'd need to go private (which I was prepared to consider). regards John

Hi John, You’re very welcome. I’m struggling myself to get a diagnosis. I have had trouble free skin all my life up until November 2017 when I started to break out all over my body. Diagnoses so far have been folliculitis, a general staph infection of the skin, discoid eczema and now psoriasis. One sinister looking patch even prompted my GP to send me off to a cancer clinic under the NHS two week referral system, but the biopsy came back negative. I’ve also been referred to a dermatologist, but the waiting period will have been about 14 months by the time I get to see them. Had I known at the time then I would have gone private. In fairness to the GPs, I think they are doing their best in what can be a tricky specialisation. Like most people I have spent countless hours online researching my symptoms, and I have struggled to find anything which exactly matches up. When this all started I was plagued by several patches on my body which looked like raw steak - completely red and soft. Within 36 hours of using the clobetasol the skin was almost back to normal. It is incredibly powerful stuff. Cheers Martin