Alternative Medicine | Hidradenitis Suppurativa

Smoking and the Skin

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With the damage placed on the body by smoking, it is possible to look at the skin of two people and compare them to tell if either person smokes. Cigarette smoke is not good for the internal organs, but also the external organ, the skin, is also affected by smoking. For example, the majority of people who smoke will show early signs of wrinkling on their skin. There is also an increased risk of being diagnosed with a chronic skin condition called psoriasis that can affect the nerve endings producing pain and blemishes.

Most of the scientific testing has been on the effect of smoking on the internal organs, but more is needed on how smoking affects the skin. Previous studies have found that smokers have a higher amount of wrinkles compared to nonsmokers. In comparison to those smokers who eventually quit and those who continued to smoke, the group that continued to smoke had more wrinkles and skin conditions than those who had quit.

Using the knowledge of what all that is known about smoking and its effects on health, especially the health of the skin, some smokers have started using alternative methods to quit. One alternative method is an electric cigarette. The electric cigarette has the same look and feel of a real cigarette and releases a dose of nicotine to help the smoker with cravings. The cigarettes have a battery that keeps the device charged. At a party no one will know the difference and it is also possible to buy flavored versions of these cigarettes. Using this alternative, the person can reduce the amount of wrinkles he or she gets but can smoke around family and friends. You can also reduce how much nicotine is in each cartridge, which can help with smoking cessation if you want to quit completely. There are even cartridges available with no nicotine at all.

Filed Under: Alternative Medicine, Health, Risk Factors, Symptoms | Tagged: Tagged With: Cigarette, Electronic cigarette, Health, Nicotine, Skin, Smoking cessation, Tobacco, Tobacco smoking

Improving Skin Health Appearances by Removing Scars

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People obtain scars for a variety of reasons. From accidents that required stitches to surgeries such as having a C-section, scars vary in size, shape, and location on the body. However, one common factor between any type of scar is that people typically wish they didn’t have them and want a solution to minimize their appearance. If you have a scar that you wish was less noticeable, you should try following the tips below.

Use Topical Treatments

Many topical treatments are currently on the market for minimizing the appearance of scars. While these treatments won’t completely eliminate the scars that you have, they can help to reduce their visibility. These topical treatments usually must be applied each day or several times each day for several months before you will begin noticing any differences. While it can be a hassle to remember to apply the treatments each day, if you follow the instructions diligently, you will hopefully receive the results you desire. Most topical scar treatments are available without a prescription and don’t cost much. However, you should consult a physician before using any type of topical treatment on a recent scar to ensure that the cream won’t harm the healing process of the scar or cause an infection.

Try Laser Treatment

Laser treatment is now a popular form of laser scar removal. Countless laser treatment centers are now available to meet the demand of people wanting to get rid of their scars so you shouldn’t have a problem finding a laser treatment center where you live. However, this scar removal treatment is typically much more expensive than over the counter topical treatments. Typically though, with the increased price of laser treatment come better results in less time. If you think that laser scar removal is the correct option for you to restore your original skin health and reduce the visibility of your scar, then you should schedule an appointment with a specialist to discuss the risks and benefits of this option.

Filed Under: Alternative Medicine, Health | Tagged: Tagged With: Conditions and Diseases, Health, Laser, Medicine, Scar, Shopping, Skin Disorders, Topical

How to Reduce the Appearance of Stretch Marks and Improve Your Skin Health

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Having a child is an amazing experience and parenthood is an amazing journey. However, the changes to your body after having a child can be disheartening at the least. Not only does your body shape change, but you may also have stretch marks that serve as a daily reminder of how large you were when you were pregnant. If you want to get rid of the stretch marks, you have many options. Some options work better than others so here are a few common solutions so you can determine which option is best for you.

Topical Creams

A variety of topical creams are currently available that claim to reduce the appearance of stretch marks. While these creams won’t eliminate the stretch marks, they can reduce their appearance. Since so many options are available, you may want to ask a physician for their recommendation on which option is the most effective so you can maximize the results and improve your skin health.

When you find a topical cream that you would like to use, be sure to follow the instructions exactly as the packaging describes to maximize the benefits of the cream. You will likely have to use the cream every day for several months but it will hopefully provide the results that you have been searching for.

Lose Weight

If you are still hanging onto some of the weight you gained after having your child, this excess weight may be accentuating your stretch marks. If you have the time and energy, you should begin exercising more to lose the extra pounds. This weight loss will cause your skin to shrink and, in turn, reduce the appearance of the stretch marks.

Additionally, you should just give the stretch marks times to fade. Often times, a few months after giving birth, you will notice that the stretch marks are beginning to fade. Hopefully as time continues, they will fade even more and you won’t have to worry about finding treatments that will reduce their appearance.

Filed Under: Alternative Medicine, Health | Tagged: Tagged With: Beauty, Health, Shopping, Skin Care, Stretch marks, Topical, Treatments, Weight loss

How to Rid Your Skin of Warts

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Warts are a form of skin disease that cause problems for countless people. If you are currently dealing with warts on your feet, hands, or elsewhere, you know how much of a nuisance they can be. Not only are warts uncomfortable to have on your skin, but they can also affect your self-confidence and make you want to keep your skin covered so other people won’t make fun of this skin health problem. However, there are things that you can do to treat and remove the warts that you have so you can begin feeling more confident about your skin instead of covering up all of the time.

Non-Prescription Options

The first thing you can do before trying more intensive options is to purchase over the counter wart removal products to see if these options will cure your skin health problem. Many forms of these treatments are available. Some of the options are pastes that you apply to the warts several times per day to kill them and cause them to flake away. Other options freeze the warts to kill them. The option that you choose will depend on your personal preferences and the type of warts that you have.

Consult a Professional

If the over the counter options don’t work at killing the warts, you should then consult with a skin health professional to seek more intense options. The skin health professional will first look at the warts to determine which type they are and which treatment option will most effectively resolve the problem.

Avoid Alternative Options

Regardless of which type of warts you have, you should resist falling for using alternative methods that aren’t proven to work at killing warts. For example, some remedies include mixing certain household ingredients and applying them on the warts. However, these options can do more harm than good and won’t resolve the problem. By only using proven wart killing methods, you will feel less frustration regarding the skin disease and will get rid of the warts faster.

Filed Under: Alternative Medicine, Health | Tagged: Tagged With: Beauty, Conditions and Diseases, Health, Options, Shopping, Skin Care, Skin Disorders, Wart

How to Get Oily Skin Under Control and Improve Your Skin Health

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Having oily skin is an annoying skin health problem that can cause a variety of issues. Not only can oily skin reduce your confidence in the way you look, it can also cause such skin health issues as acne. When you have oily skin, you may think there is nothing you can do about it and just suffer with the problem. However, there are many products on the market that you can use and other steps that you can take to help keep the problem under control and increase your confidence.

Use Appropriate Products

One of the best things you can do to keep your oily skin health problem under control is to use high quality skin care products that are specifically designed for oily skin types. Not all skin care products are created equal and some are made for dry skin while others are for oily skin. If you don’t pay attention to the products you purchase, you could be using the wrong type of product and could be making the oil problem worse.

The next time you shop for moisturizer or face wash, pay attention to the labels on the products and choose the ones that say they are for oily skin types. Additionally, only purchase products from brands that you recognize. This way, you will avoid buying low cost options that won’t be effective in keeping the oil amount down.

Consult a Dermatologist

If, after you begin using the appropriate skin care products, the oily skin health problem doesn’t improve, you should schedule an appointment with a dermatologist. Dermatologists have helped many others like you get their oily skin under control and should also be able to help you.

Having oily skin is something you will have to deal with for the rest of your life but it is a problem that can be kept under control with the right skin care products as well as the assistance of a dermatologist.

Filed Under: Alternative Medicine, Health | Tagged: Tagged With: Beauty, Cleanser, Dermatology, Health, Human skin, Shopping, Skin Care, Xeroderma

How to Maintain Skin Health as you Age

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Aging is a part of life and is something that can’t be prevented. However, what can be minimized are the effects that aging can have on your skin health. In the past, people didn’t realize that proactive measures could be taken at an early age and instead tried to reverse the signs of aging after they had already occurred. While you can take certain measures to reverse aging signs that have already occurred, it is far better to begin the prevention process early so that less factors can impact your skin health. The following are a few of the proactive steps that you can take to hopefully minimize the effects that aging will have on your skin.

Use Appropriate Products

One of the best things that you can do to minimize the effects that aging will have on your skin is use appropriate products for your age and skin type. Not everyone’s skin is made the same and this is why so many different types of products are currently available. You want to select the best matched products including everything from the moisturizer you use to the face wash you apply each day.

Most products include information regarding the type of skin they are created for be it oily or dry, and the typical age of the product users. You want to study this information because it will help guarantee that you choose the most appropriate options. If you are unsure on which products you should be using, then you should consult with a skin health professional to get their recommendations.

Avoid Sun Exposure

One of the most damaging environmental elements to your skin is sun. The sun’s rays not only cause cancer but they can also speed up your skin’s aging process. As such, you should begin using sun screen and other preventative measures at as young of an age as possible to avoid these effects. If you have children, you should also teach them the best sun damage prevention methods as soon as possible.

Filed Under: Alternative Medicine, Health | Tagged: Tagged With: Ageing, Beauty, Health, Human skin, Shopping, Skin Care, Sunburn, Sunscreen

Teaching Your Children About Skin Health

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Proper skin care techniques should begin at as early of an age as possible. This way, damaging elements will have fewer opportunities to affect the skin and proper skin care techniques will simply be a way of life instead of being a habit that must be learned later in life. If you have children, one of the best health tips you can teach them is how to properly care for their skin. It is never too early to begin encouraging proper treatment of the skin and the sooner you start providing advice, the healthier their skin will be when they are adults. Here are steps you can take at each stage of their youth to teach them the importance of proper skin care.

Toddler Years

The toddler years are often the first times that children are taken to the pool or really exposed to the sun by playing outside. As such, it is imperative at this time that you purchase high quality and high SPF sunscreens to protect your toddler’s delicate skin. Since their skin hasn’t had much exposure to the sun, it will be much more susceptible to the damaging rays and also to the formation of a sun burn. Toddler sunscreen options are now available in a wide variety of forms including lotions, sprays, and natural versions so you should easily be able to find one that matches your preferences.

Teenage Years

The next most important time to increase your efforts of teaching your children about properly caring for their skin is the teenage years. While you should never stop encouraging your children to apply sunscreen, the teenage years are also the time when you will need to add additional advice regarding choosing skin products for their skin types. It is very important to choose high quality skin care products that are specifically designed for the skin types of your children because the wrong products could cause acne breakouts and other skin health issues. If your child does develop acne, you should visit a dermatologist as soon as possible to find a solution and prevent scarring.

Filed Under: Alternative Medicine, Health | Tagged: Tagged With: Anti-Aging, Beauty, Health, Human skin, Shopping, Skin Care, Sunburn, Sunscreen

How Different Skin Care Products can Affect Skin Health

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Everyone has different skin types and therefore, different elements affect people’s skin in different ways. Therefore, you can’t expect that the skin care products that work wonderfully for your friends or spouse will also work perfectly for you. An important factor of maintaining healthy skin is first discovering what skin type you have and then choosing products that are appropriate for that skin type. The following are just a few of the negative effects that you can experience by choosing the wrong types of skin care products.

Breakouts

Acne breakouts are a major skin health problem that affects people from the teenage years well into adulthood. Some people think that acne is just something they have to deal with and don’t give much thought to the skin care products they are using. However, there is a direct link between the products you use and the severity of your acne breakouts. For example, if you are using a skin care product that is designed for dry skin types but you have oily skin, then the extra oil in the product is likely worsening the severity of your breakouts.

If you think that the products you are using are contributing to your acne breakouts, then you should schedule an appointment with a dermatologist to determine what changes you should make. Of particular importance is making sure you are using a facial cleanser that is specifically designed for acne sufferers.

Dry Skin

On the flip side of acne is dry skin. Most dry skin sufferers don’t know that the skin care products they are using are actually worsening their skin health condition. One reason some people experience red or dry skin is because they are allergic to a certain ingredient in the skin care products they are using. If you have been diligently applying lotion to your dry skin but the problem only seems to be getting worse, this could be a sign that you are allergic to the product. In this situation, you should stop using it immediately and visit a skin care professional to determine what the problem is.

Filed Under: Alternative Medicine, Health | Tagged: Tagged With: Acne, Beauty, Health, Human skin, Shopping, Skin, Skin Care, Xeroderma

How Knowing Your Skin Type can Improve Your Skin Health

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Knowing what skin type you have is important for a variety of reasons. First, knowing the type of skin that you have will allow you to choose appropriate skin care products. As you are well aware, skin care products come in a variety of forms and are designed for many different types of skin so you must know your skin type if you have any hope selecting the correct option. Second, knowing your skin type is important because this information can help you take proactive steps to prevent the skin health problems that commonly affect others with your skin type such as acne or excessive dryness.

Determining Skin Type

The best way to determine your skin type is to schedule an appointment with a skin health professional. These professionals have assisted countless other patients with their skin problems and should easily be able to assess the type of skin you have. However, you can also simply monitor how your skin reacts to certain skin care products, such as if it becomes excessively shiny when using certain products or if you experience a great deal of flaking and dryness.

Noticing Changes

Even if you have excessively oily skin when you are younger, your skin type can actually change as you age. What once was an excessive oil problem could eventually turn into a dry skin issue. Then, although you may have, at one time, wished for anything but oily skin, you may find yourself wishing for anything but dry skin. If, at any point over the years, you begin noticing differences in your skin or how your skin health is affected differently by products you have been using for years, you may need to make some changes. If your skin type does change, then you will have to begin a new search for appropriate skin care products and may even want to schedule an appointment with a dermatologist for assistance in selecting the best products for your new skin type.

Filed Under: Alternative Medicine, Health | Tagged: Tagged With: Anti-Aging, Beauty, Health, Human skin, Shopping, Skin Care, skin type, Xeroderma

Be Kind To Your Skin and It Will Be Kind To You

We’ve often been told about the harmful effects of direct UV sunlight. The truth is that sunlight provides our bodies with a much needed dose of Vitamin D. Twenty minutes a day of sun exposure will do the trick. When the nights turn dark for six months in Alaska, folks spend quality minutes under a UV light just to charge up their skin cells. Going out in the sun for longer periods should require you to lather up with some sunscreen. Even when you think you’re just going from your car to your office you can still be bombarded with direct sunlight. What about the drive home and hanging your arm out the car window?

At the end of a long day, your skin is thirsty for moisture. This doesn’t mean standing under a shower every night (although that wouldn’t hurt). But consider adding some soothing moisturizing lotion to your nightly rituals. Applying lotion to your hands, feet and face can provide you with the necessary nutrients to keep your skin healthy. If you spend all day indoors your skin can become dried out thanks to heat or AC. That’s why you need to give your skin a treat every now and then. Don’t worry; it will thank you by staying healthy for years to come!

As any first year medical student will tell you the human skin is actually the largest organ on the body. This means that your skin is a living, breathing and always malleable organism that needs special attention. Your skin is actually your front line defense against the elements and infections. Where will you pick up most of your germs? From your hands. Keep them clean and you’ll stay healthy. What keeps you warm at night? Covering your skin. The heat that is given off from your body reflects back from under a blanket and keeps you cozy. What’s the best way to treat your skin? Moisture. Even though it is the largest organ on your body, it’s probably the easiest one to take care.
We’ve often been told about the harmful effects of direct UV sunlight. The truth is that sunlight provides our bodies with a much needed dose of Vitamin D. Twenty minutes a day of sun exposure will do the trick. When the nights turn dark for six months in Alaska, folks spend quality minutes under a UV light just to charge up their skin cells. Going out in the sun for longer periods should require you to lather up with some sunscreen. Even when you think you’re just going from your car to your office you can still be bombarded with direct sunlight. What about the drive home and hanging your arm out the car window?
At the end of a long day, your skin is thirsty for moisture. This doesn’t mean standing under a shower every night (although that wouldn’t hurt). But consider adding some soothing moisturizing lotion to your nightly rituals. Applying lotion to your hands, feet and face can provide you with the necessary nutrients to keep your skin healthy. If you spend all day indoors your skin can become dried out thanks to heat or AC. That’s why you need to give your skin a treat every now and then. Don’t worry; it will thank you by staying healthy for years to come!

Filed Under: Alternative Medicine, Health, Tests and Diagnosis, Treatments and Drugs | Tagged: Tagged With: Beauty, Health, Skin Care