Skin Care Blog

In skin cancer treatment, excising (cutting out) a tumor or precancerous lesion is only one among many surgical options. In some cases, other techniques offer greater precision and/or a faster healing time with less scarring. Mohs surgery is an example of an advanced method of cancer removal for melanoma. It involves shaving off minute layers of skin and inspecting them to find the margins of the tumor without taking more tissue than necessary. Alternative surgical approaches used for other types ...

What is Ringworm

Ringworm is a common fungal infection that is highly contagious. This fungus can be contracted from other humans, from pets, and from items that an infected person or animal has touched. The fungus feeds on keratin – a component of the dead cells that make up the outermost layer of the skin. It typically begins in a single spot as an itchy, slightly flaky lesion and then spreads outward in a circular pattern with the leading edge of ...

Skin rashes are very common in children. These days, atopic dermatitis impacts a very high percentage of children at some point in their lives. One of the most frustrating and distressing things parents have to cope with when their child has a chronic rash is not being able to identify the cause. Some rashes are caused by irritants in the environment. Others are caused by allergic reactions to substances that come into contact with the skin or which are inhaled ...

Dermatologists have their work cut out for them in convincing patients to stop sunbathing and using tanning beds. These practices for achieving a warm skin tone remain popular in spite of the health risks they present. One of the reasons many people continue to seek out UV tanning is because the sunless tanning alternatives aren’t very satisfactory. Maintaining a high quality spray tan can be expensive and bronzing creams tend to streak (despite advertising to the contrary). Both can leave ...

The possibility of a link between the use of isotretinoin medications (such as Accutane) and the risk of suicide attempts has been the subject of a great deal of discussion. There is strong evidence to show that patients taking drugs for severe acne may experience changes in mood. However, researchers in Sweden are questioning whether the medication itself can be blamed for suicidal behavior. The medical records of over 5,700 patients have been examined by investigators at the Karolinska Institute ...