Skin

Everybody gets itchy skin once in a while. But when you have long-lasting, red, itchy rashes, it could be atopic dermatitis. It is a common skin disease in childhood and affects many adults too. It can have a significant physical and psychological impact on those whose lives it touches. When there is no known cure, effective skincare has been proven to relieve symptoms and keep skin calmer for longer.

Eczema is common among those who have a family history of eczema, hay fever and asthma. These conditions are referred to as “atopy’. Other than personal factors, eczema can also be triggered by environmental factors such as irritants (chemicals, weather, tobacco smoke, air conditioning) and allergens (dust, foods, animal fur, soaps, cosmetics etc).

Symptoms, including the extent and severity of the disorder, can vary drastically between cases. Eczema cases range from acute to chronic episodes.

Eczema is characterized by:

• itchy, scaly patches of skin
• sensitive areas of skin
• dry skin
• recurring rashes
• With time, some areas may become thickened

For some people eczema goes away over time and for others it can remain as a lifelong condition. Although there is no overall cure for eczema, our Doctor’s will evaluate the type of eczema you may have through a skin exam and provide you with a treatment plan to support healthy skin and alleviate the symptoms of eczema. Treatments for Eczema typically involves oral medications, topical medications as well as lasers. Each of this treatments are curated personally to the needs and severity of each patient’s condition.

Psoriasis causes cells to build up rapidly on the surface of the skin. The extra skin cells form thick silvery scales and itchy, dry red patches that are sometimes painful. It is a persistent, long-lasting (chronic) disease. There may be times when your symptoms get better alternating with times your symptoms are worse. Psoriasis is not contagious. The person must inherit the genes that cause it.

Psoriasis symptoms differ from person to person, and most types of psoriasis go through cycles, flaring for a period of time and then subsiding after. Psoriasis on the skin can range from a few flakes on the scalp to scales covering most of the body. The most common symptoms include the following and usually occur on the hands, feet, neck, scalp, face, and joints. These symptoms includes:

• Red, raised, inflamed patches of skin
• Thick, pitted nails
• Swollen, painful joints
• Chronic itching and burning around skin patches
• White-silver scales or plaques on red skin patches
• Soreness and irritation around skin patches
• Chronic dry skin that may crack and bleed

There are many different types of psoriasis, some people may experience one or more types of psoriasis, or their type can change. While there is no cure for psoriasis it can be treated by using topical corticosteroids, systemic medications and/or light therapy. Call us today and schedule your appointment with our Doctors. Through a skin exam, our Doctors can provide you with a treatment plan to support healthy skin and alleviate the symptoms of psoriasis.

Vitiligo is a disease that causes the skin to lose color. It affects people of all skin types, but it may be more noticeable in people with darker skin. Vitiligo usually affects the skin, but it can develop anywhere we have pigment. Patches of hair can turn white. Some people lose color inside their mouths. Even an eye can lose some of its color.

Vitiligo is not contagious. It is not life-threatening. But, it can be life-altering. Vitiligo is considered a medical condition. People get vitiligo when their body attacks its own melanocytes – the cells that give our skin, hair, and other areas of the body color.

Although treatment for vitiligo cannot cure the disease, it can help re-pigment the skin. Call us today and schedule your skin exam with one of our Doctors. We have a number of options available for the treatment of vitiligo. Medications and light-based therapies are available to help restore skin color or even out skin tone, though results vary and are unpredictable.

When skin is injured, fibrous tissue called scar tissue forms over the wound to repair and protect the injury. In some cases, extra scar tissue grows, forming smooth, hard growths called keloids.

Keloids can be much larger than the original wound. They’re most commonly found on the chest, shoulders, earlobes, and cheeks. However, keloids can affect any part of the body.

Although keloids aren’t harmful to your health, they may create cosmetic concerns.

Most types of skin injury can contribute to keloid scarring. These include:

• acne scars
• burns
• chickenpox scars
• ear piercing
• scratches
• surgical incision sites
• vaccination sites

An estimated 10 percent of people experience keloid scarring. Men and women are equally likely to have keloid scars. People with darker skin tones are more prone to keloids.

Keloids are sometimes confused with another more common type of scar called hypertrophic scars. These are flat scars that can range from pink to brown in color. Unlike keloids, hypertrophic scars are smaller, and they can go away on their own over time.

Hypertrophic scars occur equally among genders and ethnicities, and they’re commonly caused by various forms of physical or chemical injuries, such as piercings or harsh fragrances.

Keloid and Hypertrophic Scars both are effectively removed by a non-surgical treatment method of TAC intralesional injection. Other possible treatments for keloids include Co2 Laser Therapy.

Moles are very common, and most people have one or more. Moles are concentrations of pigment-producing cells (melanocytes) in your skin. People with light skin tend to have more moles. Moles usually emerge in childhood and adolescence, and change in size and color as you grow.

New moles commonly appear at times when your hormone levels change, such as during pregnancy. Almost all moles are benign (noncancerous). But new moles in an adult are more likely to become cancerous than old moles. If a new mole appears when you’re older, or if a mole changes in appearance, you should see a dermatologist to make sure it’s not cancerous.

Skin tags are common, acquired benign skin-coloured growths that resemble a small, soft balloon suspended on a slender stalk. Skin tags are harmless growths that can vary in number from one to hundreds.

Males and females are equally prone to developing skin tags. Obesity seems to be associated with skin tag development. Although some skin tags may fall off spontaneously, most persist once formed. Some people call them “skin tabs.”

Milia are small, yellow or white cysts that appear in clusters, usually on the face. They are often found in newborns but can affect people of any age. Milia most often appear on the face, commonly around the eyelids and cheeks, though they can occur anywhere.

A wart is a small growth with a rough texture that can appear anywhere on the body, most commonly the soles of the feet. It can look like a solid blister or a small cauliflower. Warts are caused by viruses in the human papillomavirus (HPV) family.

As many as 1 in 3 children and teenagers are estimated to have warts, but only 3 to 5 percent of adults. This is probably because the immune system becomes better able to prevent their development over time. People with a weakened immune system are more likely to have warts.

Corns are thick, hardened layers of skin that develop when your skin tries to protect itself against friction and pressure. They most often develop on the feet and toes or hands and fingers. Corns can be unsightly.

Pressure and friction from repetitive actions cause corns to develop and grow. Some sources of this pressure and friction includes wearing ill-fitted shoes, skipping socks, when you stand or walk for long periods of time or playing instruments or using hand tools.

Treatment

Removals for each of this conditions can be treated with the same method, which is the electrocauterization method. This is a minimally invasive procedure whereby our Doctors will be using electricity to heat tissue in order to remove the skin growths.

Electrocautery is a fast, affordable, non-surgical method of mole removal. It typically leaves no scar, requires no anaesthesia or recovery time, and takes only a few minutes.

It works by heating the targeted tissue with a handheld electronic device, destroying or cutting it away. Since the heat fuses the surrounding blood vessels closed, there is virtually never any bleeding with these procedures.