There’s no need to panic if you cut yourself with a knife or broken glass, one dermatologist says, since most cuts can be treated at home.
“The most important thing to do is to gently wash the cut to prevent an infection,” said Dr. Laura Ferris, an associate professor of dermatology at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center.
“Beyond that, most minor cuts and scrapes stop bleeding and heal quickly with a few simple steps,” she added in an American Academy of Dermatology news release.
Click here to read what the doctor suggest to do in treating minor cuts.
Shirley Wallace’s story (film by LampLit Productions)
“I have had PsA for 31 years. I made my father a promise when I was young that I would beat this disability. Doctors said I would be in a wheelchair by the age of 21. I am now 46 and mobile. PsA is no match for my perseverance.”
Plenty of people are eager to head out and enjoy the sunshine this summer. Dermatologist Dr. Marni Wiseman has skin care tips to help keep you stay safe while enjoying the sun.
Scarring is a common complication of acne, even when the condition is only mild, and in some skin of color patients, the scarring can be complicated by hyperpigmentation. While there are several treatments offered for improving acne scarring, including lasers, dermabrasion, subcision, chemical peels, and microneedling, post acne hyperpigmentation is not often addressed.
A recent small study conducted by researchers at the Jordan University of Science and Technology in Irbid, Jordan found that microneedling can improve acne scarring and the associated hyperpigmentation in skin of color patients.
Microneedling was chosen because it has produced favorable outcomes as a treatment for acne scarring in patients with darker skin. The technique also seems to be associated with fewer complications than other procedures, and pigmentary complications are an important consideration for patients with dark skin, said researcher Firas Al Qarqaz, M.D., of the Department of Dermatology, Jordan University of Science and Technology in Irbid, Jordan. Click here to read the findings.
With great sun comes great responsibility, to protect your skin that is.
After last year’s very successful pilot project that saw free sunscreen in five Toronto parks, the city announced in early May that they’d be expanding this year and including more parks where the community can get their (sun) protection on.
In addition to sunscreen being available at Kew Gardens Park; Sherbourne Common (south); Harbour Square Park; HTO Park (east) and Little Norway Park, the city said that there will be 50 dispensers available at parks all along a 50-kilometre stretch of the Toronto waterfront, from Marie Curtis Park to Rouge Beach.
Here’s a map of all the parks that have these dispensers with SPF30 on offer until the end of September.
Diet can affect skin conditions including acne, atopic dermatitis, psoriasis and rosacea. In a review that focuses on these four conditions, plus aging, Rajani Katta, M.D., and Mary Jo Kramer, B.S., writing in Skin Therapy Letter, highlight trigger foods that should be avoided.
Acne
Clinical trials have established an association between high-glycemic-load diets and acne. One randomized clinical trial showed that after 12 weeks on a low glycemic load diet, patients experienced a significant improvement after 12 weeks. Researchers say that the diet may have lowered androgen bioavailability, altered skin sebum production, decreased skin inflammation and reduced sebaceous gland size.
Aging Skin
The authors write that a diet high in advanced glycation end products (known as AGEs), which are found in deep-fried foods, can promote the loss of elasticity in skin.
Atopic Dermatitis
The consumption of six common foods are milk, eggs, wheat, soy, seafood, and nuts may trigger a flare within minutes to hours.
Psoriasis
Gluten-containing foods may act as a trigger for some patients. Gluten-containing foods may trigger flares in some patients, but not all. Celiac disease testing is recommended for psoriasis patients with gastrointestinal symptoms. While estimates vary, one large study found a 2.2 fold higher risk of celiac disease in psoriasis patients. The is little evidence that connects certain food types with psoriasis flares, but one observational study suggested benefits from consuming the Mediterranean diet.
Rosacea
The evidence is sparse in this area, but surveys of patients suggest that some spices and hot sauce can trigger foods as well as tomatoes (30%), chocolate (23%), and citrus (22%). Alcohol was another frequent trigger, including wine (52%) and hard liquor (42%), as well as hot beverages such as coffee (33%) and tea (30%)
Reference
Katta R, Kramer MJ. “Skin and Diet: An Update on the Role of Dietary Change as a Treatment Strategy for Skin Disease.” Skin Therapy Letter. 2018 Jan;23(1):1-5.
Original article from Dermatologytimes.com.
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The National Psoriasis Foundation has released dietary recommendations for adults with psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis, based on a systematic review of the current literature, with the strongest focus on weight reduction for those who are overweight or obese.
“People with psoriatic disease tend to be overweight and to have metabolic syndrome, a complex disorder that also includes hypertension, diabetes, and premature arteriosclerosis,” one of the authors of the paper, Sergio Schwartzman, MD, of Weill Cornell Medical College and the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York City, told MedPage Today. “A major recommendation is that in patients who are overweight and have metabolic syndrome, a strategy should be implemented that utilizes a hypocaloric diet to achieve weight reduction and ideal body weight.”
Click here for the full article to find out the findings of this study.
As much of Canada continues to bake in the sun, it’s fair to say most Canadians are sweatier than usual.
But some people are dripping sweat no matter the situation, said Dr. Youwen Zhou, a dermatology professor at the University of British Columbia – even if they’re not hot, or nervous or in any of the usual sweat-inducing situations.
These people suffer from a condition called hyperhidrosis, where they produce more sweat than is necessary to keep themselves cool. The Canadian Dermatology Association estimates around three per cent of Canadians, or about 950,000 people have hyperhidrosis.
“Patients affected by this condition could just be sweating for no reason when other people in the same environment, same conditions, do not,” said Zhou, who founded a hyperhidrosis speciality clinic at the Vancouver General Hospital.
While it’s not dangerous, it’s definitely unpleasant and many patients feel embarrassed, he said.
Many sufferers will avoid social situations that could involve shaking hands, for fear that someone will feel their clammy palms, he said. It can even limit career choices – it’s tough to use a keyboard or operate machinery with extremely sweaty hands.
Zhou acknowledges that there is a spectrum of sweatiness – some people hardly sweat at all, and some people sweat so much that they have difficulty in social situations, with most people somewhere in between.
But if you define hyperhidrosis as sweating so much that you feel your life is limited by sweating on half of all days, then about 10-15 per cent of the population reports suffering from the condition, according to his research. About five per cent could benefit from medical care, he thinks.
Dr. Anatoli Freiman, a certified dermatologist in Toronto, said that if people are sweating excessively, they should talk to their doctor. “It’s important to seek a doctor to make sure there’s no other reason for hyperhidrosis. A number of medical conditions, for example, thyroid disease, can cause hyperhidrosis. Some medications can do it. So it’s important that patients get evaluated to exclude other possibilities.”
There’s no need to panic if you cut yourself with a knife or broken glass, one dermatologist says, since most cuts can be treated at home.
