Alternative acne treatments – a review
The high percentage of people suffering from acne all over the world has led in recent times to an increase in the number of treatment alternatives available to people suffering from this condition. The classic antibiotics and creams have been supplemented by hormonal treatments, phototherapy and laser surgery. Others are trying to develop still more types of cures, such as diets built to avoid the consumption of dairy products, the use of chromium and zinc supplements and home made cures from various sorts of spices. Many of them haven’t been scientifically proven yet.
Laser surgery is the latest technique developed by doctors to reduce the scars left behind by acne. Doctors use laser beams to burn out scar tissue, which allows the skin to generate new, healthy tissue instead. This technique is still in the early, primitive stages since it is used after follicles had turned to pimples and pimples were reduced to scars.
Dermatitis Herpetiformis – How To Manage It?
November 19, 2007 by Niko
Filed under Skin Infection
As you are no doubt aware Dermatitis Herpetiformis is an extremely common skin ailment. In fact, it is known for being the chronic variety, which simply means that it does not go away after it is developed no matter how you treat the condition on an ongoing basis.
There are, however, quite a variety of treatment methods available that can help to relieve and control the symptoms that are caused by Dermatitis Herpetiformis.
What Are The Symptoms?
Dermatitis Herpetiformis has many symptoms for you to watch out for. The most common and visual include an extremely itchy rash and the local affected area will show signs of redness, swelling, scaling and lesions in the form of papules and vesicles.
Causes of Dermatitis Herpetiformis
Dermatitis Herpetiformis can be caused by an enormous variety of outside influences. Principally the condition is a result of external skin irritants and these are due to the exposure of allergens. Blame for the outbreak of this type of dermatitis can also be attributed to other common irritants such as detergents, soaps and other cleaning products and chemical mixtures. It has been recognised that even cigarette smoke and alcohol can both be responsible for further aggravating the skin and responsible for the onset of this skin condition. A further cause of Dermatitis Herpetiformis is the skin’s exposure to cheap jewellery, particularly items containing nickel.
Dermatitis Herpetiformis is also commonly associated with a reaction in the intestine to gluten products and is quite often contracted by people who suffer from Celiac disease.
Corns May Be A Side Effect
Dermatitis Herpetiformis is often responsible for causing corns on the skin. Corns are basically thick patches of skin. They can appear as hardened raised bumps or flaky, dry or waxy skin. Sometimes corns are confused with Calluses, but they are quite different.
To compare the differences between corns and calluses, you will generally find that corns are typically much smaller in size. They usually have a hard centre and are surrounded by inflamed skin. Corns usually appear on the parts of the skin that get the driest, including the feet and toes and often on and around elbows. Corns can be incredibly painful, particularly on the feet and toes when they rub against shoes. When it comes to finding an effective treatment for Dermatitis Herpetiformis corn sensitivity, there are a number of alternative options to consider.
Recommended Treatments for Dermatitis Herpetiformis
The best treatment regime you should follow will vary depending on the severity of your own particular case of Dermatitis Herpetiformis. In essence the most effective way to treat it is to ensure that the affected area is kept moisturized. If this approach fails then you should consult your doctor who would prescribe some sort of medical treatment. It is always very important to keep in frequent contact with your doctor about your skin condition and together you can work to identify the cause of your Dermatitis Herpetiformis and establish a treatment regime to which your condition responds favourably.
If your Dermatitis Herpetiformis is a direct result of celiac disease then the best, and only option, is a life-long adherence to a strictly wheat and gluten-free diet.
About The Author:
For more information on treatments for Dermatitis Herpetiformis and other forms of dermatitis and eczema go to http://www.dermatitisanswers.com
Stay clean – a few simple rules for clean face skin
One of the easiest ways to prevent, to a certain extent, the emergence of pimples and the spread of acne is to keep your skin clean. While the hormonal causes of this condition cannot be addressed by simple washing, you can still prevent excess sebum from clogging pores and grime and bacteria from accumulating into them. Thus, at the cost of a couple of minutes every day, you can actually stop acne from running wild and popping up everywhere it feels like. However, there are certain simple rules one must follow in order to make washing an effective tool against acne.
The first rule is to avoid using hot or cold water on your face. Facial skin is one of the most sensitive parts of your skin and should never be washed with anything else than lukewarm water. Hot water will burn the outer layers and cause the pores to open up too much, thereby exposing yourself to even more danger. Cold water, on the other hand will force the pores to contract and you will no longer be able to clean them, thus defeating the purpose of washing. Neither scalding your face nor freezing it is recommended. Lukewarm water is gentle on your skin and more effective at removing sebum and grime than hot or cold water.
The second rule is to avoid the use of soap or other cleansing chemicals. Soap will disrupt the natural balance of facial skin by removing too much sebum and leaving the skin dry and unprotected. It will also leave behind a film of substance that can easily clog the pores and cause the acne you are trying to avoid. Other chemicals, such as creams and ointments, will usually dry out your skin and cause redness and swelling in time. Avoid them like plague. Plain water is enough for keeping your facial skin clean.
After washing, you should pad your face with a soft towel. As you may have noticed, the basic idea is to be gentle to your face skin at all times. A harsh toweling would only serve to open a thousand tiny lesions in your facial skin, all of which can turn into entry points for bacteria and germs. Needless to say that you don’t want this to happen. Be gentle with your skin and you’ll enjoy beautiful and wrinkle-free skin even in your old age.
Keeping your skin free from acne scars
Many people suffering from acne are familiar with the problem of acne scars. While acne is enough of a problem on its own, the issue of more or less permanent scars makes everything even more complicated. Pimples are a tempting target for squeezing or picking open in what may be seen as a futile attempt to get rid of them. However, squeezing and picking is exactly what you should refrain from doing because it will only make everything worse.
I know that you heard this advice a million times, but do try to keep your hands away fro your face. For one thing, your hands have a lot of germs and bacteria, mainly because the hands are the most exposed part of the body, the limbs with which you grab and use all manner of not very clean objects. This means that bringing your hands in contact with your face skin is guaranteed to transfer a load of germs and bacteria from the hand to the face. Worse, all these germs and bacteria are transferred exactly in the area where your squeezing is opening a breach in the skin. In other words, you are bringing the enemy right to the gate.
Depending on the type of acne you are suffering from and on your face skin type, pimples that have been picked or squeezed open can turn to scars, leaving an unpleasantly looking skin behind. While squeezing pimples is not a good idea, but tolerable within certain bounds, you should absolutely refrain from trying to remove scars yourself. This is definitely a job for a trained physician who uses the right tools for the job. Tampering with scars will make matters worse. If you feel you cannot live with them, then make an appointment with a dermatologist and have them removed.
Alternatively, you could try to buy an acne treatment in order to keep your skin clear and prevent pimples from even forming. The best anti-acne system around is the ClearPores system. Featuring deep facial and body washes, herbal pills and a protection cream, ClearPores makes sure your pores are clean of grime and sebum and that bacteria don’t get the chance to start multiplying in a clogged sebaceous follicle. This system is the absolute best at stopping acne from being a problem.
How hormones affect zits and skin
Implicated in a wide range of conditions and illnesses, hormones also play a role in the development of acne - inflammation of the skin that causes blackheads, whiteheads, and red spots usually called “pimples” or “zits.” Androgens, hormones that are secreted in different amounts by both men and women, play a huge role in most cases of acne. Androgens stimulate the hormone-sensitive sebaceous glands, which produce oil known as sebum. Sebum, in turn, has been labeled as “the fuel that feeds the flame of acne.”
