If you have discolored, yellow nails, you could be dealing with finger + toe nail psoriasis. Often, brittle, raised nails can be tricky to figure out what’s going on especially when you consider how similar nail psoriasis vs fungus nail infections can look.

Nail psoriasis actually forms under the nail bed and can be easy to miss! Eventually, though, the skin becomes red and inflamed, and the nail bed is damaged in the process.

And if you have psoriatic arthritis, your risk of developing finger + toe nail psoriasis is greater than 70%! So it’s crucial to know what the signs + symptoms of nail psoriasis as well as what nail psoriasis treatment options exist.

I’m excited to discuss this with returning guest Dr. Jenny Bennett, a naturopathic doctor, acupuncturist, and founder of Aria Integrative Medicine, an autoimmune specialty clinic in Seattle, WA. She utilizes treatments from both Eastern and Western medical practices to find the best approach for treating autoimmune diseases such as psoriatic arthritis, finger + toe nail psoriasis, Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, Graves’ Disease, rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, and scleroderma.

In This Episode:

• What should a healthy nail look like?
• What is finger + toe nail psoriasis?
• Nail changes in eczema cases (How is this different?)
• Is nail psoriasis a psoriatic arthritis symptom?
• Finger + toe nail psoriasis vs Fungal nail infections
• Nail psoriasis treatment options
• Nutrients linked to healing nail psoriasis

Quotes

"You get this kind of inflammatory process, you don't always see it because it's under the nail. So it can be kind of red and inflamed, and it damages the nail bed. And then your body starts to just make all of these extra skin cells underneath the nail bed. And if you build up enough of them, it can cause damage to the nail, it can actually thin the nail or decrease it. But oftentimes it looks like it's thickening.”

“Any kind of microbial changes will increase your risk of psoriasis, psoriatic arthritis, and psoriatic nail changes. So if you have a fungal infection, or even sometimes a bacterial infection, in the nail, it will increase the risk of psoriasis happening in that nail.”

Links

Find Dr. Bennett online | Instagram | Facebook | TikTok

Healthy Skin Show ep. 217: Health Concerns Linked to Psoriasis (You SHOULD Know About)

Healthy Skin Show ep. 336: Early Signs & Symptoms Of Psoriatic Arthritis (Don’t Ignore These!) w/ Dr. Jenny Bennett

Did you know that skin problems can be signs of hidden parasites-gut imbalances?

And that if you have a skin rash like chronic hives, psoriasis, or eczema, the chances that you have gut parasites are quite high?

In fact, some symptoms of parasites might seem totally unrelated to your skin or gut health. And my many years of clinical experience has proven over time that some people have no gut symptoms at all, even though they have gut parasites lurking under the surface.

So if you’ve wanted to know how to know if you have parasites or “parasite hot spots” to be careful around – this is the episode for you!

Joining me to demystify gut parasites in adults and children is Jennifer Brand, MS, MPH, CNS, a clinical nutritionist who helps babies and children with chronic rashes navigate the journey to healthy skin so they can enjoy a childhood free from disruptive skin symptoms. As one of the most trusted pediatric skin-focused nutritionists, Jen is passionate about helping families get to the root causes of the problem through her unique method called Conquer Your Child’s Rashesᵀᴹ.

Let’s dive in!

In This Episode:

• Types of gut parasites
• How often do we see parasites in clients
• How to know if you have parasites — gut symptoms + beyond
• Foods that are “parasite hot spots”
• Are pinworms contagious?
• Perioral dermatitis parasite connection
• Parasite and skin rash connection in children
• Surprising signs of gut parasites in adults
• Reasons why you are itchier at night

Quotes

“I found a study that says that the prevalence of parasitic infections in both adults and children who have chronic hives is 75%.” – Jennifer Brand, MS, MPH, CNS

“What I tend to see in adults is like nighttime disturbances: You could have really bad dreams, really stressful dreams, night terrors, nightmares, clenching your jaw, TMJ-type issues…” – Jennifer Fugo, MS, LDN, CNS

Links

Find Jennifer Brand online | Instagram | Facebook | TikTok

GOT RASHY KIDS? Register for Jennifer Brand’s free training – http://www.ConquerYourChildsRashes.com

FOR SKIN RASH WARRIOR ADULTS! Save your seat for Jennifer Fugo’s free training (7 Skin Rash Mistakes) – http://www.RebuildHealthySkin.com

Healthy Skin Show ep. 213: Stool Testing Do’s + Don’t’s For Skin Rashes

Healthy Skin Show ep. 306: Parasites, Worms + Skin Rashes w/ Robin Foroutan, RD

Healthy Skin Show ep. 337: New Research On Gut Trigger For Chronic Urticaria Hives (And What I See In Clients)

Healthy Skin Show ep. 329: Crazy Eye Rash Trigger! Demodex Mites Treatment + Triggers w/ Dr. Carly Rose

​​Chronic spontaneous urticaria and internal parasites – a systematic review

“Why am I so itchy?” If you have itchy skin without rash, including issues like eczema, psoriasis, or chronic hives, you might have neuropathic itch.

Though itch is caused primarily by inflammation, neuropathic itch is actually caused by dysfunction of your nervous system!

Put simply, this type of itch has no primary skin rash, so you won’t see inflamed dry patches or welts. You’ll only feel itchy.

It is often localized to certain areas of the body. For example, you could have an itchy scalp, back, or arms. The itchy skin can sometimes be mild, but is unfortunately usually quite intense, leading to scratching, which can damage the skin.

And because there’s no treatment for neuropathic itch, despite it being very common, you might start to feel like there’s no hope. Yes, what’s causing this is not yet well understood, but it sounds like experts are digging into this.

Joining me to discuss neuropathic itch is returning guest Dr. Shawn Kwatra. He is the Chair of Dermatology at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. He specializes in medical dermatology areas of clinical expertise, including atopic dermatitis, psoriasis, chronic itch of unknown origin and dermatology for ethnic skin. Dr. Kwatra also runs a basic science laboratory and clinical trials unit and is funded by the National Institutes of Health and multiple foundations.

He currently serves as the National Secretary/Treasurer of the Skin of Color Society. He is a member of the National Eczema Association’s Scientific and Medical Advisory Council.

Dr. Kwatra has been an author or co-author on over 200 publications and author of the book Living with Itch.

In This Episode:

• What is neuropathic itch (aka. itchy skin without rash)?
• How could your brain cause itchy skin without rash?
• Itch intensity of different examples of neuropathic itch
• Treatment options for neuropathic itch
• Which inflammatory cytokines are involved?
• Could Low Dose Naltrexone help itchy skin without rash?
• Alternative therapies for neuropathic itch

Quotes

“[Neuropathic itch is] initiated or caused by dysfunction of the nervous system…so it actually is caused by the nerves. And the core symptoms here are that you have normal skin, or skin only with some secondary skin changes or signs of scratching, excoriation, and it oftentimes favors a localized distribution. And so the scalp is actually a very common site where folks itch.”

“Unfortunately, a lot of the medications we use to treat this condition are very sedating. They're drugs that are focusing on the transmission of itch in the central nervous system and spinal cord like gabapentin or anticonvulsants. So those are the type of drugs that we're giving for this condition.”

Links

Find Dr. Shawn Kwatra online here and here | Twitter

Healthy Skin Show ep. 275: Why You're So Itchy (HINT: It's Probably Not Histamine) w/ Dr. Shawn Kwatra

Healthy Skin Show ep. 302: What Is Prurigo Nodularis: Triggers, Body Connections + Crazy Itch w/ Dr. Shawn Kwatra

Healthy Skin Show ep. 331: Eczema Symptoms-Skin Color Connection: Why Skin Tone May Make Certain Symptoms WORSE w/ Dr. Shawn Kwatra

Healthy Skin Show ep. 03