Can Psoriasis Bleed?

One of the most irritating things about psoriasis is when plaques bleed. This annoyance can not only ruin your clothes but make you feel embarrassed as you go about your day-to-day life. No matter what color the clothes are or the time of day it happens, bleeding plaques can seriously impact you.

So, how does it happen in the first place?

Yes, plaques can bleed.

Psoriasis plaques bleed when they become inflamed or irritated. Generally, this occurs after they’ve been scratched or touched in some way. Both small and big plaques can bleed, and if they have encountered some injury of some sort, it can make the plaques grow bigger or become more widespread across your body.

It’s important therefore to make sure that any bleeding is kept to a minimum. But that’s not always easy. I remember a day about two years ago when I was walking along, minding my own business when I suddenly saw a bloodstain on my t-shirt.

It was very small but I never scratched it or injured it in some way. That made me think that sometimes you can just be unlucky and the plaque may bleed through your clothes rubbing or becoming irritated in some way. Don't get discouraged, there are a few steps you can take that will help.

Moisturize over everything

The first thing to do is to keep your skin moisturized. This is really important. Plaques become irritated when there is injury or irritation to the plaque. If you keep the skin nice and moisturized, it becomes harder for that to happen. You will feel less of an urge to scratch and your clothes shouldn’t rub as much on your skin.

Choose the right fabric

The second thing to do is to wear nice and airy clothes. Cotton is probably the best fabric I’ve come across when dealing with bleeding plaques. It doesn’t tend to rub the skin as much and is generally a nicer fit when dealing with large plaques.

Maybe think about choosing cheaper clothes so if it does happen a lot, you don’t have to worry about it being expensive to replace. I know that’s not ideal as everyone wants to wear what they like to wear, but see it as a temporary measure as you’ll be seeing your dermatologist soon and be on medication where the plaques won’t be visible anymore!

Change your mental thoughts

Sometimes, there’s just not a lot you can do about a bleeding plaque. As I’ve just written, it’s happened to me and I’m sure there are many more examples I could pick out where a plaque has decided to bleed and I’ve made sure I’m doing everything as I should be so that doesn’t happen.

Try not to be embarrassed or worked up about it. Easier said than done, I know, but just remember that it’s only temporary.

Don't let them rule you

The steps I’ve outlined are just basic things I have tried to try and remedy a bleeding plaque. For me, the best thing I’ve seen that works are simply keeping the skin moisturized. It makes a plaque less likely to bleed and keeps me from wanting to scratch or irritate the plaque in some way.

Bleeding plaques (literally) cause problems, but you don’t need to let them rule you.