Your skin—almost 20 square feet—is the window into your body. The skin is the largest most visible organ of the body and reflects the status of your overall health. It is the first line of defense against disease, infection, and other environmental factors. It helps control body temperature, reflects your health, and plays a vital role in your appearance.
Diagnosing and managing conditions of the skin, hair, and nails is the lifelong passion of a Dermatologist who knows that when something’s going wrong on the inside, the first place it often shows up is on the outside. If you are overworked, run down, fatigued, and your skin is pale and dry, you could have any number of health conditions that your dermatologist can often spot before your family doctor.
So, if you have an itch, a rash, or something weird going on with your skin, it could be your body’s way of telling you to take a closer look. Most of the time, it’s nothing to worry about. But a skin condition that’s severe or just does not go away with home treatment is a signal to check with an expert.
Here are some health secrets that your skin cannot hide from your dermatologist.
Secret #1: An Overall Itch Can Signal Internal Trouble
Among the causes of severe itching are anemia, liver or kidney problems, drug reactions and allergies, or even internal cancer. Such problems affect everyone from newborns to great-great-grandparents, and being healthy is fundamental regardless of your age. Itching can be treated but it is also important to look further and address diet, exercise, overdue mammogram or colonoscopy, blood pressure, and other imbalances in health and wellness.
Secret #2: Hair Loss in Women
Dermatologists treat problems with one’s hair and nails too. One frequent complaint: Hair loss that continues for months or even years. It’s almost an epidemic among women. In postmenopausal women, it often turns out that their ratio of androgens (often referred to a “male” hormone, even though they’re present and play a role in both men and women) to estrogens (“female” hormones) increases. And when higher levels of androgens are circulating in women, hair loss is a common, early symptom.
The good news, this type of hair loss is often temporary. You may not regain your hair’s full volume, but there are many simple cosmetic ways and products to make the hair look thicker. And for more serious loss, dermatologists also recommend topical solution minoxidil 5% and a newer technique called platelet-rich-plasma therapy (PRP).
PRP requires a small amount of your blood and a machine then separates the red blood cells and plasma. This platelet-rich -plasma (PRP) is then injected into the scalp to encourage growth of the hair follicles. The procedure takes just about 30 minutes and uses your own growth cells to stimulate the production of new hair without the worry of allergic reaction. You will return for repeated injection based on your particular needs and response.
Unfortunately, in some cases, other health conditions might be at play. The American Academy of Dermatology counts some 30 diseases that can cause hair loss, including thyroid disease and anemia. The first thing we do is test your blood to check hormone and thyroid levels and we may also check for levels of ferritin, which shows how much iron your body is storing. If it’s low, that’s likely causing hair loss. After taking iron supplements the shedding usually stops. As always, before taking any new medications, let your doctor know about any prescriptions, over-the-counter drugs, or supplements you take.
Secret #3: Unsightly Skin Growths May Be More Than Age Spots
New skin growths are common after age 55, and many are harmless. Skin tags, for example, are flesh-colored growths that look like a soft fold of skin. They’re rarely harmful, but if they frequently get caught on your clothes or jewelry, they can be removed.
Another common issue: seborrheic keratoses, which are scaly, wart-like growths on your face, chest, shoulders or back that vary in color from light tan to brown or black. Like skin tags, if seborrheic keratoses get irritated from your clothes they can be removed safely.
The challenge: It is difficult for a layperson to distinguish between harmless and harmful growths. One sign you should call your dermatologist is a sudden appearance of new growths or any growth that appears to be changing. Any growth on your body that changes in size, color, or shape, could turn out to be melanoma, the most lethal type of skin cancer.
Secret #4: Cracked, Dry Skin Can Reveal a Serious Health Problem
This is something that hits almost everyone in the dead of winter. But if it lasts well into spring or if you don’t usually experience dry skin, this could be a sign of a more serious health problem. If it also becomes itchy, painful or even bleeding it could be a sign of an underlying problem, including diabetes, kidney disease, or underactive thyroid. All these conditions impact your body’s ability to stay hydrated and maintain healthy moisture levels. As a first step, try drinking more water and massaging a thick, oil-based cream moisturizer into your skin. If that doesn’t help, it may be the warning signal that gets you into our office for a full checkup.
Secret #5: Skin Discolorations Could Mean You’re Missing Key Nutrients
Sometimes, people experience a dusky yellowish change in the color of their skin. You might even see a little yellowing in the whites of your eyes. This can be a sign of dehydration or a vitamin deficiency. Your skin cells count on a steady diet of water and a full range of vitamins—including A, B12, C, E, and K for a healthy complexion. Feeling pretty good about your eating habits and water intake? Sallow skin can also be a sign of jaundice, hepatitis or gallstones. And yellow nails could indicate a bacterial or fungal infection. Your skin could be discolored even before you have any other internal symptoms. So, if your color looks “off,” your next call should be to your dermatologist.
It makes sense to trust something as important as your skin to an expert with years of experience. A Board-Certified Dermatologist MD is a Fellow of the American Academy of Dermatology (FAAD). Many MDs call themselves dermatologists or cosmetic skin care specialists, but do not have the extra years of training and national testing required to achieve FAAD.
Advanced Laser & Skin Care Center provides full service cosmetic and medical dermatology for the entire family in a conveniently located spa-like environment.
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