phototherapy

Psoriasis is a skin disease that causes itchy or sore patches of thick, red skin with silvery scales. You usually get the patches on your elbows, knees, scalp, back, face, palms and feet, but they can show up on other parts of your body. Some people who have psoriasis also get a form of arthritis called psoriatic arthritis.

A problem with your immune system causes psoriasis. In a process called cell turnover, skin cells that grow deep in your skin rise to the surface. Normally, this takes a month. In psoriasis, it happens in just days because your cells rise too fast.

Psoriasis can be hard to diagnose because it can look like other skin diseases. Your doctor might need to look at a small skin sample under a microscope.

Psoriasis can last a long time, even a lifetime. Symptoms come and go. Things that make them worse include:

• Infections
• Stress
• Dry skin
• Certain medicines

Psoriasis usually occurs in adults. It sometimes runs in families. Treatments include creams, medicines, and light therapy.

NIH: National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases

There are four major blood types: A, B, O, and AB. The types are based on substances found on your blood cells. Your blood type also has a positive or negative sign. This is called Rh factor, which is a protein. If your blood cells have this protein, you are Rh-positive. If you don't, you are Rh-negative.

Rh factor is inherited (passed down through families). Most people are Rh-positive, meaning they have the Rh factor. Rh-negative people don't have it. Being Rh-negative doesn't affect your health, but it can affect the health of your fetus if you are pregnant.

If you are pregnant and are Rh-negative and your fetus is Rh-positive, it's called Rh incompatibility. Blood from your fetus can cross into your bloodstream, especially during childbirth. If you're Rh-negative and your baby is Rh-positive, your body will react to the fetus's blood as a foreign substance. It will create antibodies (proteins) that can damage their red blood cells.

These antibodies usually don't cause problems during your first pregnancy. But Rh incompatibility may cause problems in later pregnancies if the fetus is Rh-positive. This is because the antibodies stay in your body once they have formed. During your next pregnancy, the antibodies can cross the placenta (the organ that grows in the uterus to provide oxygen and nutrients to the fetus) and attack the red blood cells of the fetus. Rh incompatibility can cause Rh disease, a serious condition that can cause a severe type of anemia.

Your health care provider will order blood tests during your first trimester of pregnancy. This is often done at your first prenatal visit. These tests can check if you have Rh factor and if your body has made antibodies.

• During your pregnancy, injections of a medicine called Rh immune globulin can keep your body from making Rh antibodies. It helps prevent the problems of Rh incompatibility.
• After delivery, if your baby is born Rh-positive, you'll need another injection of the Rh immune globulin. But if you're Rh-negative and your baby is born Rh-negative, you don't need any other treatment.
• If treatment is needed for the baby, it may include phototherapy (light therapy) if treatment is needed for jaundice, supplements to help the body make red blood cells, or in severe cases a blood transfusion.

Early prenatal care and treatment help prevent issues with Rh incompatibility.