Albi Naturals

Psoria-Gold ® Protocols

• Acne

  Acne pimples are due to plugged pores in your skin. When your pores are plugged, the sebum in the oil/sebaceous glands cannot drain to the skin surface and backs up like the water in a blocked sink. Consequently, the bacteria and fungus in the blocked oil glands accumulate, and attract pus cells, eventually ending up in pimple formation.

  To treat acne effectively, one must:

  1. Unplug the plugged follicles, and
  2. Prevent the follicles from being plugged again.

  How to unplug the pores/follicles:

  After washing your face with glycerin soap, pat dry with a towel. Then massage a thin layer of Psoria-Gold all over the skin of your face with your fingers. You may also do this on your back or chest if you have acne in these areas. Do this each morning. The Psoria-Gold is formulated to unplug the plugged hair-follicles, thus opening up the plugged pores that cause acne.

  Retin A gel or tretinoin gel 0.025% will also unplug the pores. However, Retin A gel makes the skin sensitive to the sun. Thus, it is best to use this at night. Retin A gel may also make you your skin peel. If this is so, skip a night or two and restart the retinoic acid gel when your peeling stops. On the nights you do not use Retin A gel, use Psoria-Gold instead. Avoid applying Retin A gel to the corners of the eyes, nose and mouth. Retinoic acid gel is a prescription item.

  How to prevent your pores from being plugged up again:

  This is really important, and your acne will never be really controlled if you ignore this step.

  Avoid anything that will plug up the pore such as: conditioners in the shampoo (only use clear shampoos such as Baby Shampoo), avoid hair pomades, hair gels, hair sprays, moisturizing creams and lotions on the face, creams and lotions and makeup of any sort. Even sunscreens plug up your pores. If you want to use sunscreen, or make-up, use them on top of the Psoria-gold, which will prevent the sunscreen/makeup from plugging up your pores. You do not need a moisturizer if you have acne.

  Instructions for Washing your Face:

  Use a clear glycerin bar soap with a wash cloth. Change the wash cloth daily. If the skin is dry, skip the soap and use water alone. In this way, you tailor the washing to the amount of oils capable of reaching the skin through the pores. Thus, if your pores are plugged, your skin may be unexpectedly dry. Your skin will become more oily as the pores are unplugged with the above treatment.

  Treatment of Pimples:

  While your pores are still plugged, you may continue to have pimples. To control the pimples during this stage, you may need oral doxycycline or minocycline, These medications slow down oil production and control bacterial populations, thus controlling pimple production while the pores are being unplugged. You may also use topical clindamycin solution to dab on the pimples only and not over the whole face. You may apply topical clindamycin as many as 6X a day. This will cause your pimples to dry up overnight. Since both oral doxycycline and clindamycin solution are prescription medications, you will have to see your doctor for these.

• Cuts, Wounds and Minor Burns/Scalds

  Curcumin gel (Psoria-Gold) should only be applied to superficial erosions, and not to deep ulcers. It may be applied frequently to minor burns/scalds if used within hours to a few days after the burn injury. If applied soon after the injury, it helps the injury heal without scarring.

  Curcumin gel used at least twice daily may be used to improve fresh scars (less than 6 months old). It will not improve stretch marks.

• Eczema

  Curcumin gel will benefit eczema if used in conjunction with a topical steroid.

  It is important to identify and avoid the precipitating factors for the eczema, e.g allergy to elastic in clothing/socks, or black/brown dyes (hair, clothing, stockings). The patient should wear light colored clothing that do not contain stretch material, and avoid black/brown and elastic socks. The patient should also wash his hands after touching coins and keys since nickel allergy may be a problem. Frequently, the eczema is colonized by bacteria (e.g. Staphylococcus aureus) necessitating long-term oral antibiotics and bleach baths until the patient is clear. In such cases, it is recommended that the patient be under the care of a physician.

  Persistent eczema frequently turns out to be psoriasis.

• Photo-aging Skin

  Apply a thin layer of curcumin gel over the photo-damaged areas (face, neck, forearms, hands, chest, legs) each morning after a shower. First apply a dab of curcumin gel to the affected area. Then, using the fingers, spread the gel to cover as large an area as possible until the skin feels dry, massaging the gel into the skin as you apply the gel. This ensures that only a thin layer of gel is applied to the skin. More gel can be applied if necessary. Sunscreen can be applied on top of the gel after the skin is dry.

  For crusty lesions, spot-treat the crusty lesions thus: First, dab a little rubbing alcohol on the crusty lesions in order to get rid of the air bubbles in the crust. Then, while the alcohol is still wet, massage a little curcumin gel into the wet alcohol until the skin feels dry. The alcohol will help "drag" the curcumin gel through and under the crust where it is most effective. Do this twice daily. Monitor the lesions with photography. If the lesions do not resolve or become larger, consult your doctor for a biopsy.

  Dark patches of skin associated with photo-damaged skin are called solar lentigenes. Curcumin gel/Psoria-Gold may also benefit these lesions. Sunscreens should be liberally applied over these areas as well. If these areas worsen, consult a dermatologist because solar lentigenes may become melanomas. These areas should be monitored by sequential photography to detect worsening disease.

• Hyperpigmentation / Melasma

  Excessive pigmentation on the cheeks may be unsightly. These may also benefit from the use of curcumin gel/Psoria-Gold.

  After washing the face each morning, apply curcumin gel to the whole face. Apply a dab of curcumin gel to the cheeks. Then, with the fingers, spread the gel to cover as large an area as possible, massaging the gel into the skin until the skin feels dry. Then, apply a good sunscreen on top of the curcumin gel Ð at least SPF #70 or more. Apply more sunscreen over the hyperpigmented areas than over the less pigmented areas, so that the darker areas become lighter and the lighter areas, darker.

  If you apply the sunscreen evenly over both dark and light areas, the dark areas become lighter, and the light areas, lighter still, and you will still see contrasting pigmentation between the two areas.

• Rosacea

  Rosacea is diagnosed when you have redness on your cheeks, nose, forehead or chin. It may be associated with pustules or enlargement of the oil glands (sebaceous hyperplasia). If associated with dark rings around the eyes, thickened skin around the neck or axilla, and/or skin tags and/or multiple warty lesions on the trunk., the underlying problem is frequently lactose intolerance.

  The patient may have no bowel symptoms, or mild symptoms ranging from bloating, constipation/diarrhea, to more serious syndrome suggestive of irritable bowel syndrome, colitis, diverticulitis, and eventually colon polyps and even colon cancer.

  It is recommended that the patient cut back severely on lactose containing foods (dairy products e.g. milk, cheese, yoghurt, ice cream, pastry, pizza etc), and substitute soy products (soy milk, soy yoghurt, soy ice-cream) and goat yoghurt and goat cheese (feta) instead. It is also recommended that they take their calcium supplements in the form of calcium plus vitamin D tablets.

  The lactose in the colon interferes with the colonic bacteria which usually resides in the colon to digest cellulose, which is not digested by human beings. The dying bacteria generate stress proteins which incite an immune reaction. The inflammatory response results in secretion of cytokines, such as TNF-alpha, which cause the patient to be sensitive to the sun. This results in redness of the skin in the sun-exposed distribution, as well as induces overgrowth of sebaceous glands.

  In such cases, the patient is expected to benefit from the use of curcumin gel each morning, with sunscreen. Use a small dab of curcumin gel, and spread it out thinly as far as it will go, until the gel feels dry. Then apply sunscreen on top.

  Curcumin gel (Psoria-Gold) is an anti-inflammatory agent with anti-photodamage properties (Aggarwal B. Anticancer potential of curcumin: preclinical and clinical studies. Anticancer Research 2003;23:937-949; Heng MCY. Signaling pathways targeted by curcumin: basis for anti-photoaging and anti-carcinogenic therapy Anti-aging Therapeutics, vol X, chapter 19, 2008).

  Other Instructions:

  Wash with glycerin bar soap. If the skin is dry, skip the soap and use water alone. Use water-based make-up and not oil-based make up on top of the dry curcumin gel. If you have clogged pores, do not use moisturizers or conditioners in the shampoo . Use clear Baby Shampoo instead.

  Other Causes of Rosacea:

  Rosacea may be due to other causes, including sinus infections, photosensitivity causes by the use of colognes, deodorant soaps, or medications such as hydrochlorothiazide, sulfa drugs etc. It may also be associated with an underlying infection such as gall-bladder disease, urinary tract infection etc.

  Warning: The patient should see his/her doctor for additional treatment if necessary.

• Psoriasis

  As far as psoriasis is concerned, each patient must be treated individually and merits a separate consultation from me.

  Email me directly using the email form to the left to ask further questions.