Of course psoriasis is more than a skin condition - it is an immune condition that involves system wide inflammation which is most visible in the skin, but which can also commonly affect the joints (psoriatic arthritis), and which can affect other tissues, including the heart. Yes, there is a genetic predisposition to psoriasis, but that is no different than the genetic predisposition to heart disease - lifestyle factors can still make a difference. Psoriasis has been treated through the gut - using ox bile, slippery elm, or similar compounds, which reduce the absorption of large proteins, which can send the immune system into overdrive. Bacterial infections are a common trigger for psoriasis/psoriasis flares - particulary Strep type infections. Sunlight or UV therapy is commonly prescribed for psoriasis, as are synthetic forms of Vitamin D. Vitamin D is both a vitamin and a hormone; it turns down many components of the immune system. Most OTC forms of vitamin D supplements are not effective for psoriasis, as they are relatively weak and need to be activated by the kidneys, which limits their effect. Sunshine, on the other hand, is recognized as helpful (and psoriasis is more common in areas with less sunshine - the further away from the tropics one goes, the more psoriasis in general, the cloudier a place is, the more psoriasis in general).

Clairdo ... thank you so much for starting this thread at the end of January. As I mentioned earlier, I drink 64 oz of green tea at work each day (M-F). I started a number of months ago on a kick to do healthy things like hike, get enough sleep, don't work so hard, etc. As the months passed, my skin and scalp started breaking out and became so oily I was beside myself. Saw two doctors and became somewhat anti-social because of it. Was put on anti-biotics and have tried a number of approaches to keep the oiliness down, all to no avail. In fact it just got worse. So bad, I was about to make an appointment with my GYN to have hormone levels checked or just shoot myself ;-) Because of this thread, I started thinking about green tea in a different way. Started wondering if maybe it was causing my skin problems. So today I Googled "green tea" and "oily skin" and found an acne forum that had a lengthy discussion on skin problems possibly related to green tea. OMG, I am certainly not alone!!! It seems the same thing has happened to a lot of other people. I stopped drinking green tea on Monday and already I notice a difference. I might not have to go looking for castor and sunflower oil after all (see Vickey_MN post below on cleaning oily skin). Vickey, do you drink a lot of green tea by chance? Jodi- Here is a link that might be useful: Oil cleaning Method for face cleaning..anyone tried

I'm using a product with tea tree oil now to fight an unusually nasty case of lice we have been fighting since Thanksgiving and it seems to be the only thing that is actually working. However, I would not say we like the smell. I love the idea of using it before going to places like movie theaters! Once you have lice, you're all of a sudden hyper-aware of the susceptibility we all have to these nasty buggers. DH and I ordered an extra set of this stuff and will keep it on hand from now on - I plan to also use it when I go on trips and stay in hotels or fly on planes.

I haven't had a burning scalp on a daily basis. But on occasional days I notice my scalp feels like it's burning or extremely sensitive if I touch it, for example when trying to shampoo, towel dry or brush my hair. However, oddly enough, I am not aware that my scalp is burning/painful unless I do gently touch a finger to my scalp. I'm also having the other typical menopause symptoms you mentioned, as well.