Ayurvedic Treatment for Psoriasis in Sydney

What Is Psoriasis?

Psoriasis is a condition that affects the skin. Psoriatic skin cells replicate much faster than healthy skin cells. This leads to their accumulation and the formation of scaly, shiny plaques that may easily bleed.

Psoriasis can affect the skin on any part of the body. However, it most commonly affects the elbows, knees, trunk and scalp.

It begins when the immune system becomes overactive.

Psoriasis can be localised, affecting only the skin. In more severe cases, psoriasis can spread to other parts of the body, such as the joints (Psoriatic arthritis).

What Is the Ayurvedic Perspective on Psoriasis?

In Sanskrit, psoriasis is classified as a type of Kushtha (skin disorder). Specific psoriasis-like presentations are described as Ekakushtha (single, thickened plaques) and Kitibha (rough, scaly skin resembling tortoise shell).

The Ayurvedic perspective on psoriasis tells us that psoriasis first begins when the Kapha Dosha becomes aggravated. The symptoms that follow depend on whether another Dosha becomes aggravated as well. This means that the type of psoriasis you have will depend on which Dosha is aggravated.

Pitta-type psoriasis is the most aggressive. The skin becomes very red. You may experience extremely itchy skin that bleeds easily.

Many skin layers are characteristic of Kapha-type psoriasis. The skin may grow so many layers that it starts to look like thick fish scales.

The thick skin may become dry and flaky when a Kapha-type psoriasis becomes complicated by a Vata Dosha aggravation. The Kapha-aggravated bulging skin becomes dry and begins to peel. The more aggravated Vata becomes, the drier the skin may become. This may lead to the skin cracking.

In reality, all three Doshas are aggravated in every case of psoriasis. The only difference between individuals is the degree to which each Dosha is aggravated. When psoriasis occurs, our immune system attempts to heal the affected area. It does this by producing various biochemical substances. The problem is that the immune system doesn’t always know if the problem is too much or too little of each Dosha. Therefore, the immune system may produce excessive amounts of biochemical substances, leading to psoriasis exacerbation and a more serious autoimmune disease.

Three Dosha Types of Psoriasis

Your specific psoriasis presentation depends on which dosha is most aggravated. Identifying the dominant pattern is what makes Ayurvedic treatment effective:

What Is the Cause of Psoriasis in Ayurveda?

In Ayurveda, we believe that you can either be born with psoriasis or develop it later on in life. Either way, we believe that it is due to karma unfolding in this life.

If you were born with psoriasis, this may be due to karma from your past life. This karma can become incorporated in your life blueprint, or your genetic code, and lead to significant emotional distress. When this occurs, your nervous system can release toxins into the body. Your immune system does not know how to handle these toxins.

If you developed psoriasis later in life, the karma generated may stem from negative thoughts, emotions, or actions.

When you ruminate on negative thoughts, your nervous system begins producing toxic substances. The more negative thinking you do, the more toxic substances are produced by your nervous system. This leads to an accumulation of toxic substances in your body and an imbalance of your Doshas.

Other times, you may develop psoriasis due to poor lifestyle choices. These include the consumption of acidic foods and drinks, such as excessive alcohol, acidic beverages, and citrus.

What Parts of the Body Can Be Affected by Psoriasis?

Psoriasis can affect virtually any part of the body, but its severity and complexity vary depending on where it appears. When psoriasis affects the scalp, it is generally considered more challenging to manage — even if no other area of the body is involved — and treatment can take considerably longer to show results.

This is largely because the scalp is less accessible to topical treatments due to the presence of hair, making it harder for medications to reach and penetrate the affected skin effectively. The scalp is also a highly visible area, and research shows that scalp psoriasis can have a disproportionate impact on a person’s quality of life, contributing to significant psychosocial distress, including effects on self-esteem and emotional wellbeing.

By contrast, psoriasis that does not involve the scalp or other high-impact areas is typically considered milder and easier to treat. Interestingly, in some cases psoriasis can present in a very localised way, affecting only the fingernails or toenails, with no involvement of the skin elsewhere on the body.

Is There a Connection Between Psoriasis and Stress?

There is a definite connection between psoriasis and stress. You may experience a flare-up of your symptoms during times of stress. Therefore, stress can trigger psoriasis.

However, psoriasis can also trigger stress!

When the skin is very dry, for example as a result of psoriasis, this can irritate your peripheral nervous system.

The peripheral nervous system is the part of the nervous system that is outside of your brain. It sends signals to the brain to let it know what is going on in the body. It also receives signals from the brain that tell the body things like “I’m stressed, time to increase the heartrate”, or “You’re touching a hot stove, move your hand!”.

Sometimes, when skin affected by psoriasis can extend to the mucosal membranes. The mucosal membranes may also become dry and damaged. This further irritates the peripheral nervous system.

In these cases, the irritated peripheral nervous system sends signals to the brain to let it know that something is wrong. This can cause you to feel stressed, and you may not even know why.

What Are the Risks If Psoriasis Is Left Untreated?

The symptoms of an untreated psoriasis can transform and lead to other types of diseases or infections. For example, an untreated psoriasis can lead to further Kapha aggravation, resulting in psoriatic arthritis.

Kapha and Vata Doshas can become aggravated in various organs. This can lead to a worsening of psoriasis symptoms.

When this occurs, the body tries to heal itself by increasing the function of the immune system and producing more Pitta. Pitta increases the heat in the body and leads to symptoms such as gout, fever and moderate inflammation.

The body becomes more prone to fungal and bacterial infections. This is especially true in the ears and genital organs. These parts of the body provide a good medium for microorganism growth. This is when a Western medical doctor may prescribe antibiotics.

This leads to a cycle of psoriasis medication to calm down the immune system. Antibiotics to treat the infections that occur as a result of a depressed immune system. Then, more medication to calm the immune system. The cycle goes on until you treat the root cause, the Dosha imbalance.

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Ayurvedic Herbs Used for Psoriasis Treatment

Never self-prescribe Ayurvedic herbs for psoriasis. Combinations and dosage must match your specific dosha pattern and any current medications. Always consult a qualified practitioner.

What Is the Ayurvedic Approach to the Treatment of Psoriasis?

In Ayurveda, the treatment of psoriasis depends on each person’s condition. That means that the way your psoriasis is treated may be different from the way your friends is treated. In Ayurveda we treat the psoriasis by treating the underlying problem.

Therefore, the type of Ayurvedic medicine that is used for your particular circumstance depends on your underlying needs that led to the psoriasis in the first place. If we attempt to treat the psoriasis symptoms without treating the underlying issues, the treatment might not work.

At YATAN Holistic Ayurvedic Centre we begin by analyzing the nature of your Doshas. We also take into account other problems you may have, such as psoriasis and obesity.

Once we analyze what we have to treat, we come up with a treatment plan that is specific to you. We must work very hard to treat all of the problems you have. This is because the body produces waste (called ama in Ayurveda), and the waste accumulates. If we continue to let it accumulate, it may continue to cause problems even though we are treating one thing. This means that we must treat everything in order to help your body get rid of the toxins and get relief from psoriasis symptoms.

Therefore, in order to treat psoriasis, we must take into account everything that is going on in your body. Frequently, we end up having to balance all three Doshas.

Ayurvedic Dietary Advice for the Treatment of Psoriasis

In Ayurveda we recognize that certain foods may cause an allergic reaction in your body. This allergic reaction may lead to psoriasis symptoms.

For this reason, we advise that you remove acidic foods from your diet during the course of your psoriasis treatment.

We may also find that you have other food allergies. You must remove those foods from your diet as well during the course of the treatment.

Any food that you are intolerant to can be a serious trigger for psoriasis. This is because your body does not have the enzymes to process these foods. This means that your body struggles to digest the foods and produces toxins that accumulate and trigger psoriasis symptoms.

In Ayurveda we do not think in terms of proteins, fats and carbohydrates. We don’t even think about the individual nutrients each food possesses. We only think which food is good for your body at this time. We don’t break foods up into its components, we think about it as a whole.

It is important to remember that medicine will not work if you do not respect the diet. This means that without following diet guidelines, the treatment is unlikely to be successful. This is because triggering foods continuously add new toxins into the body. We must stop this process during treatment.

When used together, diet and medication can help your body balance the Doshas. Once the body has healed, the foods that were eliminated can be re-introduced. This is because they do not have the same negative effects on a body that is in balance.

How Is the Ayurvedic Treatment Different from the Western Approach?

The Ayurvedic treatment for psoriasis focuses on the body as a whole system. We consider how your body functions as a whole — including outside factors that may be influencing it such as stress and a suboptimal diet.

The Western medical approach mainly focuses on the signs and symptoms of psoriasis. Therefore, the treatment is to use immune suppressing drugs in order to calm the immune system to reduce symptoms.

The problem is that pharmaceuticals have many side-effects, especially ones as potent as immune suppressing medications. These side-effects lead to other problems that you might have to take more medication to control. For example, there is an increased risk of infection which leads to an increased need for antibiotic therapy.

Ayurveda, on the other hand, focuses on helping the immune system instead of suppressing it. A healthy immune system helps to regenerate damaged cells and organs. The Ayurvedic treatment for psoriasis is a holistic approach. We treat the entire body, mind and spirit so you can feel good about your entire life. Psoriasis is never the problem. It is your body’s way of telling us that there is a deeper problem to look for and fix.

Side-by-Side Comparison:

Note: Ayurvedic care can be used alongside conventional treatment. Always inform your GP and Ayurvedic practitioner of all medications you are taking.

The Ayurvedic Treatment for Psoriasis, Step by Step

Our approach to psoriasis treatment follows a clear 4-step process, modified as your body changes throughout the course of treatment:

The treatment regimen is modified as your body begins to change throughout the course of the treatment. We consider the new needs of your body during every stage of your recovery from psoriasis.

How Can I Prevent Psoriasis in the Future?

Psoriasis can recur in the future, we cannot ‘prevent’ it. However, after the Ayurvedic treatment for psoriasis, future symptoms may be less intense and require less treatment. The duration of symptoms may also be shorter.

How Long Does Ayurvedic Psoriasis Treatment Take?

Most people get results in three months from the Ayurvedic treatment for psoriasis. This is especially true if your symptoms were severe.

People with lighter symptoms may see some improvement in their psoriasis within three to six weeks.

The psoriasis symptoms may become more aggressive during the course of the treatment. This is nothing to worry about, it is a normal part of the process. It means that the medication is working and helping your body heal. This will quickly resolve.

The road to recovery is not a straight line. There may be times when your psoriasis symptoms significantly improve, only to come back more severe, then they improve again, and so on. Eventually, they will completely resolve. This is just your body’s healing process.

The whole treatment process can last months or longer, depending on the severity of your initial condition.

If symptoms recur in the future, we just restart the treatment plan again.

Typical Timeline at a Glance

• Light symptoms: Some improvement in 3–6 weeks
• Severe symptoms: Results in 3 months
• Full treatment course: Months to longer, depending on initial severity
• Healing pattern: Non-linear — improvements with flare-ups expected

Meet Your Practitioner — Raman Das Mahatyagi

Raman Das is the principal Ayurvedic practitioner at Yatan Holistic Ayurvedic Centre, with 30+ years of clinical experience and a private practice in Sydney since 2000. He originally established his clinic in Nepal before relocating to Australia. Author of YATAN Yoga and YATAN Yoga Therapy. His work with chronic psoriasis includes the documented full-recovery case study from his early years in Nepal — preserved above.

Read more about Raman Das →

How Much Will Ayurvedic Psoriasis Treatment Cost?

The cost of the Ayurvedic treatment for psoriasis depends on each individual case. Just like the length of treatment varies between cases, so does the cost of treatment.