Is Dog Licking A Strange Cure For Psoriasis?

By eudoram

1 min read

You're going to think I'm crazy but I have seen this work first hand. In 200, I moved in with a man who had plaque psoriasis on both arms. His condition was always red and flaky when he scratched it.

Man's best friend

He didn't believe in doctors so he never tried any prescription medicine. He had tried anti-itch meds over the counter with little success.

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When I moved in with him I brought with me a dog who liked to lick skin. She licked my legs when I came out of the shower, she licked my hands, she licked any body part she could get close to.

Can dog licks cure psoriasis?

The man I moved in with, Carl, enjoyed her licking. It was soothing. She started licking his psoriasis. She licked it every day. After about one year, his psoriasis cleared up. I know it all sounds fantastical but that's what happened.

Since then I have wondered if there could be something in a dog's saliva that could be a cure for psoriasis. I have no idea who to contact with this idea and maybe it was just a fluke but I do think it's worth checking into.

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michael705 Member
AMAZING
michael705 Member
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VickiN Moderator & Contributor
Hi <a></a><a></a><a><inline-mention user-id="3323069" username="eudoram"/></a>! You know what, I have actually heard other people say that this helped their psoriasis (and they have wondered the same thing... is there something in our dogs' saliva?). Did Carl find that his psoriasis steadily improved over that 1 year, or did it happen all at once? Thanks for sharing! -Victoria, Community Moderator
brooke101 Member
This does work! My roommates dog started doing this and it’s surprisingly clearing up.
1. Jessica.Hall Moderator
 Hi <a></a><a></a><a><inline-mention user-id="3322233" username="brooke101"/></a>! Thanks so much for joining the conversation. Just another reason to love dogs ever more! 😀 So glad to hear your friend is feeling better. Wishing you and your friend well. Kindly, Jessica <a href='https://plaquepsoriasis.com' target='_blank'>Plaquepsoriasis.com</a> Team
PlaquePicker Member
As both a sufferer and a clinical professional, I highly discourage this practice. While various studies of the past have shown that canine saliva has some anti-bacterial properties, there is great variation and inconsistencies. Contrary to popular belief, canines (because they are often indiscriminate eaters among other things) do not generally have cleaner mouths than humans. Please trust that allowing dogs to lick your psoriasis (or any wound) is NOT a recommended practice. Excessive licking can be both dangerous (infection) as well as destructive from the friction -- Think about this logically, when Dogs have wounds or surgical procedures, why are they always put in "Elizabethan Collars" (Cones)? To avoid infection and destruction that comes with licking. Psoriasis sufferers often scratch and pick at their inflamed areas, which often leads to small micro-bleeds and openings in the skin. Picking and scale removal literally causes trauma, and doing so, leads many to experience worse inflammation due to the "Koebner Effect". We have seen some nasty concomitant infections involving fungus and even extreme cases of bacterial infections leading to sepsis and gangrene/extremity death requiring amputation. Feel free to look at the cases online of Greg Manteufel (Wisconsin) and Marie Trainer (UK), their stories are well publicized as they chose to educate the public. I won't upload the horrific pictures here. There are far more cases which have not been publicized. Even if these are infrequent scenarios, why even take the chance? PLEASE, DO NOT allow your canine companions to lick and groom your psoriasis or any skin defects for that matter. Understandably, the psoriasis community is notorious for trying any and everything to see if it works for them -- Dog Saliva ain't one them! Lets be real here. If it took a year for the psoriasis to clear, it isn't exactly effective anyway. It's no different than the placebo effect, and likely no different than one's psoriasis clearing without explanation. Sometimes it just disappears from localized areas. I'm willing to bet, that's what happened in this case.
1. Jill.Brodie Community Admin
 Hi @PlaquePicker, this is very interesting. Thank you for sharing. Jill, Team Member