Archive for the 'Skin Disorders' Category

Eczema is a skin condition which often begins in childhood and continues throughout life. Up to 34% of all Americans suffer from eczema.

Medical researchers have not yet determined the exact cause, though it is believed to be related to the immune system. Eczema causes eruptions on the skin which itch intensely.

New studies are finding that eczema patients have fewer outbreaks when they use a product known as a shielding lotion. Shielding lotions are designed to provide a barrier between skin and the outside world.

Irritants, such as chemicals in the environment, cannot then reach the skin and cause skin irritation, which exacerbates eczema and other skin conditions.

Not only can shielding lotions help prevent new eruptions, but they can also help existing eruptions heal.

A shielding lotion is different from a traditional moisturizing lotion in that it forms a barrier and helps the skin increase its own natural ability to keep out irritants.

When possible, choose shielding lotions that are free from all irritants such as perfumes or dyes, and which provide adequate sunscreen protection.

Until medical science is able to find a cure for eczema, helping our skin learn to take care of itself better may be the next best thing. [Eczema Cure]

If the heels of your feet are dry, rough, and cracked, they can be painful.

The cracked heels may be so severe that they bleed. There are several ways to address the problem.

First, you will want to exfoliate away the dead skin.

You can either do this with a chemical product designed to remove dead skin, such as Kerasal, or with a physical product, such as a pumice stone, microplane foot file, or exfoliating scrub.

Whatever method you choose, remove the buildup of dead skin slowly. Never use a knife, nail clippers, scissors, or a razor blade to remove dead skin.

Similarly, do not use a callus reducer to shave away dry skin. It is far better to remove the buildup of dead dry skin gradually over a period of about a week than remove too much dry skin at once and leave your feet excessively tender, or worse, bleeding.

You may find it easier to remove the dead skin if you soak your feet first. You can buy commercial foot baths, or you can use a mixture of baking soda and Epsom salts to soak your feet.

Most people know psoriasis as a skin disease, one that causes itchy and painful plaques on the surface of the skin.

Researchers have found that the problems with psoriasis are more than skin deep, and that having psoriasis may increase your risk of having diabetes, hypertension and also cardiovascular diseases.

In the study, women who were diagnosed with psoriasis were 63 percent more likely to go on to develop diabetes, and 17 percent more likely to go on to develop high blood pressure.

Neither weight, age, nor whether or not the women smoked appeared to make any difference, although all are factors that have been thought to influence rates of both high blood pressure and diabetes.

More research is required as only white women were included in the study; men and women of all ethnicities will need to be included in further studies to provide results more applicable to the general population.

Researchers believe that the increased rates of diabetes and hypertension among these women were due to psoriasis; it is a disease of chronic inflammation.

About 7.5 million people suffer from psoriasis in the United States. Complications of psoriasis include arthritis and depression. There is no cure for psoriasis ;psoriasis treatment focus on controlling the disease.

For many people, who are suffering with eczema, change in diet is very important factor for controlling eczema flare ups.

One such way of changing diet for eczema is to avoid foods that can certainly worsen the condition.

Here are 4 ways to avoid foods that can cause eczema.

1. Identify triggers: This is the first thing that you have to consider when you are trying to control eczema flare-ups. Usually, you can experience symptoms of eczema immediately within two hours after eating a trigger food. Identify such triggers of food that causes eczema (eczema triggers).
2. Prepare a food diary: After identifying your triggers of eczema, list them out in a dairy. Write everything that you eat and that you should avoid protecting your skin from eczema.
3. Eliminate triggers from your diet: Once you’ve completed creating your food diary, you can review it before you eat your meal. Check for triggers of food that cause eczema and eliminate them to avoid eczema breakout.
4. Stay away from processed foods: If you have eczema, you may also have allergies to whole foods and also to ingredients and preservatives used in it. Try to stay away from whole foods or processed foods in order to control eczema flare ups.

Psoriasis is a very difficult skin condition which needs lot of patience to handle it.

Constant itching and scratching can upset you and also people living with you. It is very essential for you to get better relief from irritating psoriasis symptoms.

Along with regular medications prescribed by your personal doctor, here are few helpful measures that you can follow to deal with psoriasis.

• Regularly take bath with cold water to get relief from itching to some extent. Daily baths helps you to eliminate scales on your skin and calms down inflamed skin.
• Avoid using hot water and harsh soaps for taking bath, which can possibly make psoriasis condition much worse. Instead, you can use mild baby soaps and lukewarm water for taking bath. You can add also Dead Sea salts or Epsom salt to your bath water and let them dissolve for 15 minutes.
• Apply moisturizer to your skin, immediately after taking bath. This will help you to prevent dry skin and locks moisture in skin. If your skin is very dry, use skin oils instead of creams and lotions.

Are you suffering with blisters on your feet? Nothing can be as worse as having those red, itchy, burning blisters on your feet.

Badly fitted shoes, high heels are most common causes for foot blisters and if not treated at right time, these blisters can lead to itchy infection.

So, treat them as early as possible. You need not rush to your doctor in initial stages; follow these steps to get better relief.

1. Apply antibacterial lotion or cream as soon as you notice the blister. Before applying, be sure to clean the surrounding area of the blister with soap and warm water.
2. When going outdoors, ensure that you cover the blister with adhesive bandages. This will help to prevent further infections with dust and other pollutants.
3. Leave blisters uncovered when you are at home because providing sufficient air heals up the blisters quickly. Unless you have blister on sole of your feet, don’t move around with barefoot.
4. Soak your feet in warm water with every night before you go to bed. This can help to prevent further infection and also helps in quick healing of blisters.

Did you notice any scaly patches on your lips or other parts of your skin? Rough scaly patches are most popular signs of actinic keratosis.

When your skin is frequently exposed to UV rays emitted from sun, you can develop this particular condition.

Most of the doctors consider actinic keratosis as an early sign to growth of cancer.

This is due to the reason that actinic keratosis leads to skin cancer and causes great damage to natural texture of your skin.

If you want to reduce your risk of actinic keratosis and skin cancer, prevention or early detection is the only way.

Don’t ignore these particular signs of actinic keratosis

Get immediate medical attention when you notice scaly patches, even flat or slightly raised, on the surface of your skin. These scaly patches are most popular signs of actinic keratosis. Even if you notice lesions on skin in brown, red or pink colors, immediately consult your skin specialist to get right treatment in early stages.

It is strongly recommended to seek appropriate medical attention, when you notice any skin lesion that continues growth or bleeds.

Ensure that your skin is protected from harmful UV rays

As parents, we want our newborn baby to look perfect so when we start noticing scaly, red patches on their scalp and a greasy quality to their hair we may start to worry about the future prospects of our baby’s appearance.

If their hair is oily now, what will it be like when they are teens? The good news is your baby just has cradle cap and that’s nothing to be alarmed about.

Are you sure it is cradle cap?

This is a common question doctors hear regularly after diagnosing and explaining cradle cap to parents. That’s because most people are sure something is wrong. But the truth is cradle cap is not that unusual nor is it anything to be alarmed about.

What causes cradle cap?

Cradle cap can, in some ways, be blamed on the mom. That’s because what happens is that the mom’s hormones interact with the placenta before the baby leaves the womb. Her hormones cause the sebaceous glands to become overactive and that leads to the problems known as cradle cap.

Ingrown toenails aren’t pleasant, especially if you have to deal with them over and over again. They can make even walking a painful experience.

The good news is that most of us don’t have to go to a podiatrist to get a solution for this problem.

Need to See a Podiatrist

Now before we can talk about home brewed solutions to ingrown toenails you should know that some people really do have to work with a professional. That’s because ingrown toenails for them can lead to more serious complications later.

For example, if you have poor blood circulation or diabetes, you should always have your ingrown toenails taken care of by a professional. In fact, you should be having your feet checked periodically to make sure you don’t end up with these types of problems.

Soaking & Coating

A few of the best ways to deal with ingrown toenails could be classified as either soaking or coating. With early problems that are aching, you should get a basin of warm water with some Epsom salts added in.

If you put your toe in the mixture for a few minutes a couple of times a day, you should see some improvement and some pain relief.

Tinea versicolor is not a severe illness. Caused by a fungal infection, Tinea versicolor can cause changes in the coloration of parts of your skin.

Besides being visually disturbing, there are no other serious complications you need to worry about. However, understanding the nature of the infection and appropriate treatment methods can ease your concern if you suspect you may have this problem.

What is Tinea Versicolor?

Sometimes also known as pityriasis versicolor, Tinea versicolor is a fairly common infection caused by a fungus on the skin. Basically, the fungus affects the skin’s natural pigmentation and, as a result, causes patches of the skin to be discolored.

Most of these patches are fairly small. Even with treatment, the discoloration may remain for weeks and may come back in certain environmental conditions.

What Causes Tinea Versicolor?

The fungus responsible for Tinea versicolor grows in the hair follicles of everyone’s skin, even healthy skin. However, the problems with pigmentation occur when that fungus starts growing rapidly.

This overgrowth can be caused by a number of factors, such as hot and humid weather, sweating a great deal, or having excessively oily skin.