Psoriasis is a chronic skin disorder that affects 1% to 3% of the world’s population. It is characterized by periodic flare-ups of well defined, red patches covered by a silvery, flaky scale on parts of the body and the scalp. There are several types of psoriasis but the most common type is chronic plaque psoriasis.

There are many different topical treatments for psoriasis, but a Cochrane review found that two often used topicals work best together. Based on 131 studies the review found that Vitamin D products like Dovonex combined with high-strength corticosteroids, groups I & II were the most effective topical treatments.

This is good news for people who have mild psoriasis because these are medications most primary care physicians feel comfortable prescribing. But for people who have numerous plaques, it’s difficult to apply topical medications on every plaque.