Alcohol and psoriasis

Hi Lee I read that avoiding wheat, Gluten and nightshade veg such as aubergine, tomatoes, white potato etc can help but personally I changed my diet completely (except chocolate, cannot do without one treat) and it did not have a long lasting improvement on my skin but it really helped with gut issues. Some swear by blueberries but I have eaten them everyday for a couple of years and again, no change for me. I do have chronic psoriasis so without biologic meds, I constantly flare but diet change does work for some. Also, I haven't drunk acholol or smoked for years but I have non alcoholic fatty liver! Seems that's common in people with psoriatic disease! It's completely trial and error and we are all very different. Good luck for finding a trigger, it's worth looking into.

MitchellSS1: I am not at all sure that alcohol is "a well known trigger for psoriasis". Many people on these forums have very diffiernet experiences (and not only with alcohol) . Certainly for me, I started to have my first incidence of psoriasis on the day after my 22nd birthday after a VERUY heavy drinking session. I woke looking red and blotchy and within a few days was covered in spots (my GP initially thought it was chicken pox) which very quickly turned into plaques. It was also my 3rd year of university and I was definitely feeling VERY stressed and worried about my final exams due 4.5 months later. Over the years since, my psoriasis has subsided, flared up and subsided. It has not shown any correlation with my drinking. I have drunk very heavily for periods over the years, but also had weeks and months when I drank nothing. Some people DO say that if they have a heavy night, they observe their psoriasis flare up, but many also see no correlation. It can be very difficult to identify triggers. For example, if someone is having a stressful time at work and goes for a few drinks to unwind, and their psoriasis flares . . . did the alcohol trigger it, or the stress, or both, or neither? I am in my 60s and have had a varied life and lifestyle, living and working in many countries. I have never seen any correlation to my diet. I HAVE seen that getting sun and swimming in the sea coincided with reductions in my psoriasis . . even when in a stressful job . . .

Good points, it could even be the raised cortisole levels associated with the aftermath of a heavy drinking session and not directly the alcohol itself for some people. It's an interesting one, I found a study done with a large group of women with psoriasis that found it flared up more after premium/strong beers yet not wine and other drinks however not found a lot documented other than that. I just observe that it's always from two days after a heavy beers session for me (it never doesn't happen after drinking), but at the same time on a hangover I do naturally get slight anxiety the day after so likely heightened cortisole levels too. Interestingly the last time my nail psoriasis got anywhere near clearing was within a two month period with zero beers/alcohol, yet I was incredibly stressed over that period about something going on in my life yet no flare up which also leads me to think it's a trigger for me. Maybe I'll try gluten free beers to see if that has any correlation next time, I know I could just bin it off altogether but it's something in life I enjoy occassionally, Agreed about the sunshine, I remember going to Turkey and it was almost clear by the end! Will try and persevere with my UVB lamp too. Lee

I been drinking heavily for months everynight almost and only just went to doctors about it, I had no idea alcohol could be a trigger, but it spread really fast in a short period of time, so I guess alcohol was my key trigger....

Hi RichyRich1994, Yep might be worth laying off the booze for a month or two to see if you see improvement, if you google alcohol and psoriasis there's a lot of info about it being a trigger. I just wish I knew whether it's the alcohol itself or the contents of the alcoholic drinks I'm choosing, probably the former though and the fact it only takes one session every week or two to worsen it is annoying. Is it beers/ales you've been drinking? I'm going to try gluten free beers/drinks next time to see if that makes any difference to the two day after flare up, will keep you posted. Lee