Pain and pruritus

Psoriasis is not often described as painful, but it can be sore especially if the skin is very dry and cracked and/or scratching has led to damage of the skin surface. It is, however, very often itchy. About 74% in the de Kort study reported itch being a major symptom with only 38% and 12% reporting soreness and pain respectively (de Korte et al., 2005). This is contrary to some dermatological textbooks which report psoriasis as a non-itchy condition. This may be because unlike in eczema, itch is not one of the key diagnostic clues in psoriasis, but many patients find the itching associated with psoriasis unbearable at some point or other.

You know terrible itching sort of makes you feel quite nervous. ... and sometimes you can’t sleep for itching. I was going to a wedding on Saturday and I was terribly itchy. I couldn’t go to the wedding and it was just horrible really. (Ersser et al., 2000, p. 10).