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Psoriasis Decision Aid

  • 1. Introduction

    Learn more about psoriasis.

  • 2. My Options

    Read about available treatments.

  • 3. My Skin

    Learn about your psoriasis.

  • 4. My Values

    Express what is important to you.

  • 5. My Trade-offs

    Compare treatments with your values.

  • 6. My Decision

    Your results and next steps.

  • 7. My Resources

    Learn more about psoriasis.

My Skin

Severity

This page will clarify how severe your psoriasis is. Doctors measure severity by:

  1. How much of your body is covered with psoriasis (body surface area).
  2. Whether key areas are involved (such as face, hands, feet, genitals).
  3. The effect of psoriasis on your life quality.

In general, psoriasis severities can be classified as:

Mild: involves less than 5% body surface area, does not involve key body areas, or has little impact on life quality.

Moderate to Severe: involves more than 5% body surface area, may affect key body areas, or may have high impact on life quality.

Where, on your body, is your psoriasis? (Select all that apply)

Example Knee Psoriasis
Example of knee psoriasis.
Example Back Psoriasis
Example of back psoriasis.

How much body surface area does your psoriasis currently cover?
Use the diagram below to help figure it out.

In the diagram, each box is about 1% of your body surface area. There are 100 boxes adding up to 100% of your body surface area.

Select all boxes where you currently have psoriasis. Add them together for your total percentage. If not all of a box is involved, you can add less than 1% to your total. For example, add 0.5% if your psoriasis covers half a box.

Image Map
Image Map half half half
Image Map

The body surface area of my psoriasis is about

%

This is only an estimate of your body surface area. Assessment by a health professional may be more accurate.

The body surface area of my psoriasis is about

%

This is only an estimate of your body surface area. Assessment by a health professional may be more accurate.

Think about the overall impact of psoriasis on your everyday life. Please select a spot on the line that best answers each question.

How itchy is your psoriasis?

Not at all Extremely

How painful is your psoriasis?

Not at all Extremely

How much has psoriasis negatively affected your life?

Not at all Extremely

Do you have pain, swelling, or morning stiffness of any of your joints?

If yes, you might also have psoriatic arthritis. Talk to your doctor because you might need to learn about other treatments.

History

Example Scalp Psoriasis
Example of scalp psoriasis.

These questions help to understand your past experience with psoriasis.

How long have you had psoriasis?

Have you ever had treatment for psoriasis before?

This information will be useful when you think about your values in the next step.

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Last Updated: August 2020 with support from the Canadian Psoriasis Network