How to Help Your Psoriasis: Try an At-Home Spa Day

You've probably tried lots of remedies to kick your psoriasis, but have you tried balneotherapy? That's just the fancy word for treating illnesses by bathing. Psoriasis.org says this kind of therapy works for some people because the salts can help break down the psoriasis plaque. And if you want to kill two birds with one stone, you could use this spa day to relieve other ailments (achy joints, nasal congestion, stress, etc.).

What Ingredients Do You Need for an At-Home Spa Day?

  • About 1 to 5 tablespoons of ginger (this can be potent, so add more or less to your preferences)

  • About ½ cup to 1 cup of epsom salt (again, you can add more or less according to your preferences)

  • About ½ cup of baking soda

  • (optional) drop of essential oils (*Rosemary and vanilla are popular oils because they have nice smells. Lavender is a great essential oil to use if you want to relieve stress.)

Steps

1. While it would be nice to have a personal pool or spa to relax in, you can still make reap the benefits with a regular tub. Fill up your tub halfway with hot water.

2. Pour in all your ingredients and swish them around with your hands to help them dissolve. Fill up the rest of the tub with hot water.

3. If you can, soak in the tub for about half an hour so that your body can adequately soak up all the ingredients. You shouldn't feel cold or uncomfortable. If you are, towel off, and refill the tub with hot water.

4. Just like a regular spa treatment, you'll have sweated out a lot of toxins so make sure you drink water after to rehydrate. If your doctor has recommended ultraviolet light therapy, you can use it in conjunction with the spa therapy. The spa will soften your skin and hopefully break up the plaque so that the UV light can better penetrate your skin.

If you aren't keen on baths, you can still get the same benefits from modified shower. Let your shower warm up for about 10 minutes so that you can build the steam can build in the bathroom for a sauna-like effect. Then, you'll want to try an Epsom salt spray—xovain.com has a great DIY recipe on how to make a spray from salts and magnesium flakes. Once your in the shower, you can spray it on your skin to reap the benefits. Talk to your doctor, one like Henry D. McKinney M.D., for more ideas.


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