Psoriasis and the covid vaccine.

@missagnes Welcome to Connect. I certainly hope we’ll be able to help. You say that this plaque psoriasis developed just after having a Moderna vaccination. Did you doctor diagnose the psoriasis and is light therapy the only treatment you’ve received?
Psoriasis is an autoimmune disease so stress (we’ve had plenty with Covid) and genetics can play a role. Are there or were there other autoimmune diseases in your family?
What does your doctor recommend about the booster? He/she is the best one to advise you. Please let me know what your doctor advises!

Thank you for your response. My mother had psoriasis as a young woman. No others immune diseases I am aware of. My doctor diagnosed the condition. In addition to the light therapy, he ordered laser therapy for my scalp, Scalp was reddened so am seeking less intense application. I'm using prescribed oils, lotions and ointments on body. He prescribed the pill Otezla which I could not tolerate. I am waiting to see whether insurance will cover Biologics injections. On the matter of the booster, he is noncommittal. He said he understood my hesitancy to get the booster. Nothing more.

@missagnes it certainly sounds like you have found a good doctor and are getting treatment. I’m very happy that everything has worked out. If the Oct or is non-committal, then it’s probably OK to get the booster, but, really, the choice is yours. I’m immunocompromised and i have had the booster with no problems. I’m just so pleased that you had the vaccine and helping the world reach “herd immunity!”
Will you let me know how your treatment goes?

Speak with your Dr!

Hi
I have had mysterious skin ailments for years, mostly on my face now . After first moderna shot my face broke out in hundreds of pApules.
I put a new med on my face. A tube of tetracyclin-like cream medicine. It helped. Second shot did not do this .

@siosal Good morning. How is the skin on your face doing? What did your doctor think about the papules?

Hi
Things are the same but I have just been found to have hyperparathyroidism. There may be a connection…….
Thank you.

Derma-Smooth FS helps me tremendously for my scalp psoriasis. You need a PR from your doctor.

Am I right in thinking that vaccins & booster jabs "boost" the immune system? Isn't it then contra-indicated for immuno-suppressed people? How can we suppress & boost our immune system at the same time?

You’re so right in that vaccines and boosters are meant to help prep the immune system and set up antibodies for any future exposure to a specific bacteria or virus. It doesn’t boost the entire immune system.

People who have compromised immune systems still have a working defense system, it’s just not as robust as it would be otherwise because of chronic illness, medications, blood cancers, etc. So vaccines aren’t contraindicated.
Their blood still contains the critical cells for launching an attack against an invading bacteria or virus, just not in the usual quantities and the response may be slowed because of the compromised innate immunity.

There is also acquired immunity, also called adaptive immunity, which uses T-cells and B-cells when invading organisms slip through a first line of defense of innate immunity. It’s like calling in the big guns in a battle. So even if the system is suppressed the vaccine can still help create some adaptive immunity for a particular disease. That will depend on compromised level of the system. Granted, some people are severely immunocompromised and a vaccine might not trigger much response. They may need an extra dose as in the case of the Covid 19 vaccine. Or the current influenza for adults over 65 for instance. It is a heftier dose of the usual vaccine because as we get older our immune systems weaken naturally.

But sometimes, a vaccine, any vaccine, can also cause an autoimmune response and launches an attack against the body such as your flair up of the psoriatic arthritis.

Often it’s treated with a quick burst of steroids to calm the overactive immune response and things go back to normal. . Have you seen a doctor regarding your flair up?