4. Medication
Some forms of medication are linked to flare-ups, namely:
Antimalarials: These are drugs for the treatment of malaria. Plaquenil, Quinacrine, chloroquine, and hydroxychloroquine may cause a psoriasis episode, usually two to three weeks after the drug is taken. Hydroxychloroquine is the least likely to cause side effects.
Inderal: This is taken for high blood pressure. It increases the severity of the condition in up to 30 percent of patients with psoriasis who take it. High blood pressure medications are beta blockers. It is not known if all beta blockers worsen psoriasis, but they may well do so.
Quinidine: This is prescribed for heart conditions. It has been reported to worsen some cases of psoriasis. Indomethacin: This is an anti-inflammatory drug used to treat arthritis that is not based on steroids. It has had a negative impact on some psoriasis sufferers. But the relief it brings to psoriatic arthritis usually outweigh the negative side effects. It is up to each patient to monitor the impact and possibly lessen the dose accordingly.