Psoriasis is a stubborn, chronic, and as yet incurable disease of the skin. Some eight million people suffer from psoriasis in the United States alone. And they spend more than $1 billion a year ($2,000 every minute!) to treat this poorly understood ailment.
Psoriasis-the word comes from the Greek psora which means itch-was considered a form of leprosy in biblical times. But this "disease of healthy people" doesn't threaten or shorten lives. It is neither an infection nor an allergy. It probably is not due to any vitamin or mineral deficiency. It doesn't leave scars or make you lose your hair. And, except in severe cases, it doesn't interfere with physical activities. (In fact, it may not even itch). To the psoriasis sufferer, however, it can be an emotionally disabling and traumatic disorder.
Psoriasis is characterized by patches of raised, red skin covered by silvery-white scales. It can occur at any age, but commonly begins in young adulthood. It usually recurs at unpredictable intervals and may be worse in the winter. It is often precipitated or aggravated by physical or emotional stress, upper respiratory infections, strep throat, alcoholic beverages, obesity, certain oral medications (lithium and anti-malarial drugs are but a few), and skin injuries such as scratches, cuts, and burns, including sunburn.
Psoriasis is not contagious. It does seem to run in families about one-third of psoriatic patients have a family history of the condition-although the pattern of heredity is not clear. It is also associated with a form of arthritis which affects the joints of the fingers.
No one knows the cause of psoriasis, but we do know how it comes about. Normal skin cells have a life span of about twenty eight days. This is the time it takes for a cell to be born, move to the outer surface of the skin, and flake off.
In psoriasis, due to some abnormality in the mechanism which makes the skin grow and replace itself, this orderly process goes awry. The skin cells turn over at a rate ten times faster than the normal cells, causing a build-up of scales in thick, red, and sharply-bordered patches. These patches may be small, the size of a matchhead or smaller, or extremely large, covering the entire body. If these patches appear in the body's creases and folds. They may cause itching and pain. Although psoriasis can affect any part of the skin, the patches usually occur on the elbows, knees, and scalp.
Psoriasis comes in many shapes and forms. It can, for example, limit itself to the fingernails and toenails as small pits or stippling or loosening of the nails from their beds. In some unfortunate people, it affects the genital area and can limit sexual activity. In extreme cases it is widespread, with total body redness and scaling, causing severe embarrassment which, in turn, can lead to psychological problems: the true "heartbreak" of psoriasis.
If you have psoriasis, there are some remedies you can try yourself. But for serious or stubborn cases, I recommend you see your dermatologist. There are many treatments, both old and new, that require a doctor's know-how.
The method of treatment depends on the extent and severity of the symptoms. An old standby is one of the various types of tar preparations which have been used with good results by thousands of psoriasis sufferers. Other methods are sunlight and ultraviolet radiation. There are also cortisone-like medications that are applied or injected into the patches as well as various oral remedies which, while often effective, may have potentially serious side effects. One of these is methotrexate, a drug that has been used for many years to treat difficult and extensive cases of psoriasis. Treatment with methotrexate is complicated by nausea, mouth ulcers, headaches, and harmful effects on the liver.
The latest powerful oral medication for severe and stubborn psoriasis is a pill called etretinate (Tegison). It is extremely effective for the severe, generalized forms of psoriasis, but there are many serious, adverse side effects. If you plan to enter into this therapy, make sure your dermatologist explains it to you.Every new treatment for psoriasis becomes headline news.
Most of these "miracle treatments" quickly fall into disfavor or are discarded when another "breakthrough" is heralded. One of the popular treatments, PUVA therapy, is aimed at slowing down excess cell reproduction. The patient swallows a harmless drug called methoxsalen and then is exposed to longwave ultraviolet light. The proponents of this therapy swear by it, and today it has become a fashionable treatment for people with extensive psoriasis. There is some indication, however, that the PUVA treatment' can lead to severe skin damage appearing many years later. Another reported treatment, called climatotherapy, consists of bathing in the Dead Sea!
But let's face it. While many of these treatments can help relieve the itching and scaling, there is no known "cure" for psoriasis. The cure will come about only when we know the exact nature and mechanism of the disease.
And while you must face the possibility that psoriasis will be a permanent guest in your life, let me offer some general guidelines to help you overcome the difficulties that accompany your condition:
* Avoid emotional stress and tension.
* Try not to worry about what you consider the unsightly appearance of your rash. (It looks a lot worse to you than it does to other people.)
* If it itches, try not to scratch.
* Avoid those widely advertised" quick cures."
* While diet plays only a small role in psoriasis, I recommend that you limit your intake of red meat, poultry, eggs, dairy products, and alcoholic beverages for a few weeks to see if it helps. I know that doesn't leave much, but a temporary diet of fish and vegetables is a small price to pay for the chance of relief.
* Cooperate with your dermatologist.
* Don't be discouraged if progress is slow.
* And take comfort in knowing that with the variety of medications and treatments available, this potentially traumatic and hopeless disorder has a good chance of being controlled.
Senin, 30 Maret 2009
Selasa, 10 Maret 2009
Dermatosis Papulosa Nigra
Dermatosis papulosa nigra is a condition, not a disease, seen almost exclusively in blacks. It occurs in about one-third of all black people and is twice as common in women as in men.
What does it look like? Tiny, smooth, raised, mole-like spots that appear on the face and neck that are darker than the skin around them. Resembling flat warts, they begin around the age of puberty, are inherited, can vary in number from just a few to hundreds, and become more numerous as a person gets older. They never become malignant; in other words, they are not precancerous growths.
If you have a lot of these tumors and are unhappy with the way they look, a dermatologist can remove them simply and easily with a variety of methods.
Selasa, 03 Maret 2009
How to Prevent Razor Bumps?
The ingrown hairs of the beard in black men are called, technically, pseudofolliculitis barbae. Almost everyone knows what you mean, though, if you call them "razor bumps." This irritation and swelling around an ingrown hair occurs mostly in young black men because the hair and hair follicles in blacks are more curved than in whites.Razor bumps develop when the sharp, razor-cut tips of curly hair, sharpened by frequent shaving, cut into the skin in an arc and grow inward.
Several factors make the condition worse:
Stretching the skin out and pulling it taut when shaving. Once the skin is released, the short hairs pull back below the surface of the skin. Because of their curve and sharp tip, they re-enter the skin and pierce the wall of the hair follicle.
Shaving against the grain. . Shaving with a dull blade.
Shaving with a 2-track razor. That extra track cuts the hair below the level of the skin before it has a chance to snap back.
There are no easy solutions to this common, painful inconvenience, but here are a few hints that can help:
The simplest answer is to grow a beard and all the bumps will disappear in about a month. Why? Because by the time the hairs are about a half-inch long (in a month or so), the natural tension will cause the ends of the hairs to spring out of the skin.
Since you may not want a beard for the rest of your life, change your shaving routine as follows:
1. Before shaving, carefully lift out any ingrown hairs with a straight pin or a beard pick.
2. To soften the hairs, wash your face thoroughly with soap and hot water for at least two minutes. Rinse.
3. Apply an aerosol shaving cream and lather up for two more minutes.
4. Use only a single-edge razor.
5. Shave gently, using smooth, even strokes.
6. Shave down-one way-on the cheeks and chin.
7. Shave up-one way-on the neck.
8. Shave over one area only one time. Do not shave repeatedly over the same area.
9. Don't pull your beard taut when shaving.
10. Use a new razor blade every time you shave. If you can find a single-edge disposable razor, use it.
11. Shave every other day for the first two weeks, then daily.
Don't expect to get a smooth, clean shave the first few times you use this method. Be patient. After a while, you may be able to train your hairs to grow out straight, or at least straighter, rather than in a curl.
If this method doesn't work, here are a few other suggestions:
Use a chemical depilatory. But beware-they can be irritating, they take a long time to use, they don't smell very pleasant, and they should not be used more often than every other day.
Use electric barber clippers to shave. Since they do not cut the hair as short, they do prevent razor bumps. At the same time, though, you may not be happy with the not-as-close shave.
Electric shavers, unfortunately, aren't much help with the problem of razor bumps.
Don't expect to get a smooth, clean shave the first few times you use this method. Be patient. After a while, you may be able to train your hairs to grow out straight, or at least straighter, rather than in a curl.
If this method doesn't work, here are a few other suggestions:
Use a chemical depilatory. But beware-they can be irritating, they take a long time to use, they don't smell very pleasant, and they should not be used more often than every other day.
Use electric barber clippers to shave. Since they do not cut the hair as short, they do prevent razor bumps. At the same time, though, you may not be happy with the not-as-close shave.
Electric shavers, unfortunately, aren't much help with the problem of razor bumps.
Minggu, 22 Februari 2009
How to Cure Skin Warts?
Over 60 million people in this world have warts. The common myth that they are caused by handling frogs or toads is, of course, only a myth. Frogs and toads have their own problems. Warts are growths on the skin caused by viruses. They should be destroyed because they are contagious, unsightly, and occasionally painful.
You can pass warts on to others by direct or indirect contact, in such places as locker rooms, public shower stalls, gymnasium mats, and swimming pools. Very often, members of the same household are afflicted with warts. They can also spread on the same person by picking, scratching, shaving, or biting one's nails.
Warts come in many shapes and sizes and can turn up on different parts of the body. The so-called common wart is a raised, rough, grayish-looking, painless growth. It can vary in size from a pinhead to a fairly large mass. While they may occur on any portion of the skin surface and mucous membranes, common warts are usually found on the fingers, hands, and soles of the feet.
Flat warts are smooth, flesh-colored, and slightly-elevated. These matchhead-size growths usually appear on the face and backs of hands of children and young adults. Genital warts are found in the moist areas of the genital and anal regions.
Warts on the sole are called plantar warts. (Not "planter's warts," as some people are fond of saying, as if there were some thing agricultural or occupational about them.) These warts are the most stubborn variety and frequently resist all known treatments.
That there are dozens of widely proclaimed methods to eliminate warts attests to the fact that there is no single predictably effective remedy. Ideally, the treatment should be quick, safe, and painless. And it should produce no unsightly or lasting scars.
Some doctors recommend that the best way to manage warts is to let them manage themselves. If left untreated, many warts will disappear by themselves in about two years. This seems to be the natural history of warts. Warty people, however, may not want to wait for any spontaneous cure, and so they seek medical advice.
Methods that physicians use to treat warts are about as varied as warts themselves. The type of treatment your doctor uses will depend upon your age, the location of your warts, and the size and number of warts to be treated.
In electrosurgery the wart is burned off with an electric needle under a local anesthetic. Warts also can be chemically destroyed using various types of acids, plasters, and other chemicals. Other warts can be frozen off using liquid nitrogen at minus 320 degrees Fahrenheit. Still other warts succumb to surgical excision (cutting the wart out under local anesthesia). A less widely used method is X-ray therapy carefully administered by a dermatologist. In selected cases, such as stubborn plantar warts, this method can produce miracles. Recent concern over the effects of radiation, however, has restricted its use. One of the latest modes of therapy for large or stubborn warts is the argon laser.
Genital and anal warts are usually transmitted by sexual contact and it is essential to treat the patient's sexual partner to prevent recurrences. These venereal-type warts respond to podophyllin-a resinous substances that a physician paints on the warty growths at weekly intervals.
Some doctors (and some grandmothers) charm warts away by suggestive methods. These "witching" methods have worked in many individuals, particularly young, impressionable children, and they leave no scars, no matter how deep or long-standing the warts may have been. Regardless of how bizarre or ludicrous a treatment may sound, if the patient has faith in the "charmer," the warts usually will disappear. (However, I do not recommend stealing a piece of beef or a dishrag!)
A great deal of research is going on to determine why certain people get warts, why others do not, and why warts often disappear spontaneously. In the meantime, if you can't ward off warts, take comfort in knowing that your doctor can help you get rid of them.
You can pass warts on to others by direct or indirect contact, in such places as locker rooms, public shower stalls, gymnasium mats, and swimming pools. Very often, members of the same household are afflicted with warts. They can also spread on the same person by picking, scratching, shaving, or biting one's nails.
Warts come in many shapes and sizes and can turn up on different parts of the body. The so-called common wart is a raised, rough, grayish-looking, painless growth. It can vary in size from a pinhead to a fairly large mass. While they may occur on any portion of the skin surface and mucous membranes, common warts are usually found on the fingers, hands, and soles of the feet.
Flat warts are smooth, flesh-colored, and slightly-elevated. These matchhead-size growths usually appear on the face and backs of hands of children and young adults. Genital warts are found in the moist areas of the genital and anal regions.
Warts on the sole are called plantar warts. (Not "planter's warts," as some people are fond of saying, as if there were some thing agricultural or occupational about them.) These warts are the most stubborn variety and frequently resist all known treatments.
That there are dozens of widely proclaimed methods to eliminate warts attests to the fact that there is no single predictably effective remedy. Ideally, the treatment should be quick, safe, and painless. And it should produce no unsightly or lasting scars.
Some doctors recommend that the best way to manage warts is to let them manage themselves. If left untreated, many warts will disappear by themselves in about two years. This seems to be the natural history of warts. Warty people, however, may not want to wait for any spontaneous cure, and so they seek medical advice.
Methods that physicians use to treat warts are about as varied as warts themselves. The type of treatment your doctor uses will depend upon your age, the location of your warts, and the size and number of warts to be treated.
In electrosurgery the wart is burned off with an electric needle under a local anesthetic. Warts also can be chemically destroyed using various types of acids, plasters, and other chemicals. Other warts can be frozen off using liquid nitrogen at minus 320 degrees Fahrenheit. Still other warts succumb to surgical excision (cutting the wart out under local anesthesia). A less widely used method is X-ray therapy carefully administered by a dermatologist. In selected cases, such as stubborn plantar warts, this method can produce miracles. Recent concern over the effects of radiation, however, has restricted its use. One of the latest modes of therapy for large or stubborn warts is the argon laser.
Genital and anal warts are usually transmitted by sexual contact and it is essential to treat the patient's sexual partner to prevent recurrences. These venereal-type warts respond to podophyllin-a resinous substances that a physician paints on the warty growths at weekly intervals.
Some doctors (and some grandmothers) charm warts away by suggestive methods. These "witching" methods have worked in many individuals, particularly young, impressionable children, and they leave no scars, no matter how deep or long-standing the warts may have been. Regardless of how bizarre or ludicrous a treatment may sound, if the patient has faith in the "charmer," the warts usually will disappear. (However, I do not recommend stealing a piece of beef or a dishrag!)
A great deal of research is going on to determine why certain people get warts, why others do not, and why warts often disappear spontaneously. In the meantime, if you can't ward off warts, take comfort in knowing that your doctor can help you get rid of them.
Senin, 16 Februari 2009
Few General Tips That Can Help Prevent Or Control Acne
Here are a few general principles that can help prevent or control acne:
* Wash your face thoroughly at least three times daily.
* Don't pick or squeeze. This may aggravate the condition and lead to infection and scarring.
* Shampoo your hair frequently.
* Keep your hair off your face and don't use hairsprays, mousses, or greasy hair dressings.
* Avoid greasy cosmetics.
* Avoid creamy suntan lotions.
* Facials are not recommended because the creams and lotions force more oil into the already clogged pores.
* If you have acne near your mouth, stop your fluoridated toothpaste for a few months and note whether it makes any difference.
* Avoid emotional stress. The chemicals released by your body during anxious and stressful situations stimulate the adre-nal gland to produce more of the male-type hormone (more so in women!) which, in turn, stimulates the overproduction of skin oil.
* Watch your diet. The role that diet plays in causing acne is controversial and debatable. I recommend that you cut out chocolate, seafood, nuts, and cheeses, and that you limit milk to three glasses a day.
* If your physician has prescribed tetracycline for your acne, do not take multiple-vitamin supplements containing iron. Iron interferes with the absorption of tetracycline.
New lesions can occur despite good management. It can be controlled, however, to lessen its severity and to prevent the scarring that may result. Don't be discouraged if your progress is slow. If you are diligent, conscientious, and faithful with your treatment, you will reap the benefit of a clearer complexion.
It is especially important that parents try to understand their teenagers' plight. By offering encouragement and helping your teenager maintain his or her self-esteem, you can help lessen the mental anguish and psychological scars that so often accompany acne.
If your acne is stubborn, persistent, and disfiguring, consult your dermatologist. Waiting to "outgrow" acne can be a serious mistake; permanent scarring can result if acne is left untreated. A dermatologist can prescribe internal and topical medications to eliminate or lighten this cross that almost all teenagers have to bear.
* Wash your face thoroughly at least three times daily.
* Don't pick or squeeze. This may aggravate the condition and lead to infection and scarring.
* Shampoo your hair frequently.
* Keep your hair off your face and don't use hairsprays, mousses, or greasy hair dressings.
* Avoid greasy cosmetics.
* Avoid creamy suntan lotions.
* Facials are not recommended because the creams and lotions force more oil into the already clogged pores.
* If you have acne near your mouth, stop your fluoridated toothpaste for a few months and note whether it makes any difference.
* Avoid emotional stress. The chemicals released by your body during anxious and stressful situations stimulate the adre-nal gland to produce more of the male-type hormone (more so in women!) which, in turn, stimulates the overproduction of skin oil.
* Watch your diet. The role that diet plays in causing acne is controversial and debatable. I recommend that you cut out chocolate, seafood, nuts, and cheeses, and that you limit milk to three glasses a day.
* If your physician has prescribed tetracycline for your acne, do not take multiple-vitamin supplements containing iron. Iron interferes with the absorption of tetracycline.
New lesions can occur despite good management. It can be controlled, however, to lessen its severity and to prevent the scarring that may result. Don't be discouraged if your progress is slow. If you are diligent, conscientious, and faithful with your treatment, you will reap the benefit of a clearer complexion.
It is especially important that parents try to understand their teenagers' plight. By offering encouragement and helping your teenager maintain his or her self-esteem, you can help lessen the mental anguish and psychological scars that so often accompany acne.
If your acne is stubborn, persistent, and disfiguring, consult your dermatologist. Waiting to "outgrow" acne can be a serious mistake; permanent scarring can result if acne is left untreated. A dermatologist can prescribe internal and topical medications to eliminate or lighten this cross that almost all teenagers have to bear.
Senin, 02 Februari 2009
How to Affect Medications on Your Skin?
Taking vitamins, diet pills, and many other medications can change the appearance of your skin, hair, and nails. Very dry skin can result from taking thyroid medication and high doses of vitamin A.
Hives can develop from hundreds of medications, usually aspirin, penicillin, and sulfa. Acne and oily skin are frequent side effects of low-dose birth control pills, anti-epilepsy medication, and cortisone-like drugs. You can develop sun poisoning if you get too much sun while taking sulfa drugs, high blood pressure pills, oral contraceptives, or medicines with tetracycline. A rash that looks a lot like measles can show up if you're taking penicillin, ampicillin, sleeping pills, or Librium. Low-dose birth control pills, thyroid medication, male hormones, and a variety of drugs used to treat cancer, can all cause hair to fall out.
Hives can develop from hundreds of medications, usually aspirin, penicillin, and sulfa. Acne and oily skin are frequent side effects of low-dose birth control pills, anti-epilepsy medication, and cortisone-like drugs. You can develop sun poisoning if you get too much sun while taking sulfa drugs, high blood pressure pills, oral contraceptives, or medicines with tetracycline. A rash that looks a lot like measles can show up if you're taking penicillin, ampicillin, sleeping pills, or Librium. Low-dose birth control pills, thyroid medication, male hormones, and a variety of drugs used to treat cancer, can all cause hair to fall out.
All of these side effects shouldn't discourage you from taking your medicines, but you should know what might happen when you do. If you think you are developing an unusual reaction from some type
Think about Your Skin
What is this bag we call the skin-this fantastic envelope that possesses some of the most extraordinary mechanisms in the entire body? It is an organ of the body-a marvelously efficient apparatus that nourishes, guards, and protects us twenty four hours a day.
When laid out flat, the skin of an average adult would measure some twenty square feet; it would weigh about nine pounds. That's a lot of organ-one of the largest and heaviest of the body. Also the most abused and maligned organ of the body.
Considering those "thousand natural shocks that skin is heir to," its continuing function and lack of complaint is nothing short of amazing.
How do we treat this remarkable mechanism? We dig and rub and scratch it. We expose it to all the elements---extremes of heat and cold, sun, wind, rain, and snow. We cut it, shave it, pick it, squeeze it, pinch it, and twist it. We scrub it, pull it, and bend it. We rub it, slap it, punch it, and knead it.
In the name of Beauty, we paint it and mark it and spray it. In the name of Health, we massage it and scorch it in the steam room and sauna. Name another organ that can stand up to all that! Yet it survives!
We never think of our skin as we do our heart, liver, lungs, kidneys, brain, or any other "important" organ. To many of us, this complex body stocking we wear so casually is just a sac to hold our insides in, a bag containing some watery stuff and bones. But the skin is an important, vital, viable, living mechanism without which the human organism cannot survive.
When laid out flat, the skin of an average adult would measure some twenty square feet; it would weigh about nine pounds. That's a lot of organ-one of the largest and heaviest of the body. Also the most abused and maligned organ of the body.
Considering those "thousand natural shocks that skin is heir to," its continuing function and lack of complaint is nothing short of amazing.
How do we treat this remarkable mechanism? We dig and rub and scratch it. We expose it to all the elements---extremes of heat and cold, sun, wind, rain, and snow. We cut it, shave it, pick it, squeeze it, pinch it, and twist it. We scrub it, pull it, and bend it. We rub it, slap it, punch it, and knead it.
In the name of Beauty, we paint it and mark it and spray it. In the name of Health, we massage it and scorch it in the steam room and sauna. Name another organ that can stand up to all that! Yet it survives!
We never think of our skin as we do our heart, liver, lungs, kidneys, brain, or any other "important" organ. To many of us, this complex body stocking we wear so casually is just a sac to hold our insides in, a bag containing some watery stuff and bones. But the skin is an important, vital, viable, living mechanism without which the human organism cannot survive.
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