I’ve got spotty palms

QThere are horrible spots full of yellow pus on my palms and soles. My doctor says it’s psoriasis, but it looks nothing like my friend’s psoriasis!

Lydia, Romney Marsh

ASounds like pustular psoriasis, a particular form of the skin disease psoriasis that affects your palms and soles, although around a quarter of sufferers also have the more familiar scaly purple-red patches of psoriasis on their bodies.

It’s more common in women and in smokers, though we’re not sure why, and usually first appears between the ages of around 40 to 60, with red hands and feet that become covered in pus-filled blisters.

Besides looking unpleasant, these can be painful and interfere with using your hands or feet. Treatment means stopping smoking and using moisturiser and steroid ointment. Stronger treatment might involve more powerful drugs to reduce inflammation, or ultraviolet light therapy.