the dynamic natural skin care: treatments

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Sunday, July 26

Paronychia symptoms - Paronychia treatment

Home › Paronychia › Paronychia pictures › Paronychia symptoms and treatment

Paronychia signs and symptoms

Paronychia affected nail fold may present reddening (erythema), tenderness, pain and edema (swelling). Acute paronychia may manifesting over hours to days.

Pus may develop along the nail margin. In severe acute conditions pus is also formed below the nail plate.

In case of chronic condition the cuticle and proximal nail fold may get retracted and separated from the nail plate. The paronychia infection may spread into deeper tissues of pulp space in the palm side of the finger causing felon which requires aggressive treatment. Severe acute infection can cause chills and fever.

In patients with acute form of paronychia, typically only one nail is involved. In chronic form, usually the thumb and second or third fingers of the dominant hand are involved. The diagnosis is usually by visual observations. Chronic or acute conditions not responding to treatment may require differential diagnosis to rule out squamous cell carcinoma, malignant tumors, eczema and psoriasis.

Paronychia treatment

Nail fold infection, especially the chronic form, is prevalent in laundry workers, agricultural laborers, food handlers, dishwashers, fishermen, fishmongers, fish farm workers, dairy workers, watersports personals and swimmers. Treatment of paronychia is determined by the degree of inflammation and infection and also whether it is acute or chronic.

Warm water soak treatment for paronychia

Mild, acute cases of paronychia without abscess only require soaking the affected finger or toe in warm water to which antibacterial soap/epsom salt/vinegar is added. At a time about 15-20 minutes of soaking is required and it may be repeated four or five times a day. The warm water increases the circulation to the soaked area, inducing the immune cells to do their job of clearing the infection. The added ingredients will function as mild antibiotic.

Topical applications

Chronic paronychia treatment is typically different from acute treatment.For acute nail fold infection where there appears to be only cellulitis, topical application of antibacterial preparations may be applied apart from warm water soaking to totally remove the infection. If chronic infection with cellulitis is seen antifungal preparations and also steroids may be applied. A combination of antifungal and steroid had been found to be very effective.

Oral antibiotics

Acute paronychia with abscess and pus formation requires apart from draining the pus, use of oral antibacterial like clindamycin, cefadroxil or amoxicillin to clear the infection. Chronic fungal paronychia may require a long course of systemic antifungal medication. There is always a possibility a concurrent bacterial infection requiring the use of antibacterial medication.

Paronychia of finger

Surgical intervention in paronychia

Abscess formation and pus collection in acute paronychia requires surgical intervention to drain the pus. This may be done in several different ways. Normally the cuticle at the abscess is raised making passage for the pus to drain out. If neglected, acute or chronic condition may worsen affecting the deeper tissues it may cause ascending lymphangitis or sepsis.

In cases of paronychia where the abscess is further away from the cuticle, a small incision can be made directly over the abscess to drain the pus followed by eponychial marsupialization. The procedure is usually pain free and in exceptional cases local anesthetic can be used. The wound may be packed for two days with a piece of plain gauze packing soaked in antibiotic cream. After removal of the packing, the patient may be advised warm water soak treatment till the acute reddening and inflammation subsides.

In chronic paronychia where the nail plate and nail bed are damaged partial or total removal of the nail become necessary. This procedure is usually done under local anesthesia and the wound will take several days to heal. The patient should also try to find and avoid the root cause of the chronic condition whenever possible, or chronic paronychia may recur.

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Sunday, August 17

Anagen effluvium causes - Anagen effluvium treatment

Home › Anagen phase › Anagen effluvium treatment - Anagen effluvium causes.

What is anagen effluvium?
Anagen effluvium (AE) is a dystrophic disorder of extensive and sudden loss of hair in its growth phase.

Anagen effluvium is caused when factors antagonistic to metabolic and mitotic activity of the hair matrix suppress, interrupt or arrest the cell division. The anagen hair loss starts occurring even before the transition of the follicle to the telogen phase. It can affect both the genders at any age. For appropriate treatment, the triggers must be identified by thorough examination of patient's history of ailments, nutritional status and hair shedding episodes.

As at any time, about 90% of the hair is in anagen phase, its loss is very apparent, especially on the scalp. However, hairs of the beard, eyebrows, eyelashes, armpits and pubic regions may also be lost. Generally the anagen arrest is reversible and the regrowth of hair is possible when the suppressing antimitotic factor is withdrawn. However it may take up to three months for the recovery to become apparent, as the hair follicle, which was abruptly forced into regression and rest, has to recover and spring back into growth phase. Hair loss during the growth phase can be categorized into anagen effluvium and the loose anagen syndrome. The loose anagen syndrome has an entirely different etiopathogenesis.

Causes of anagen effluvium

Anagen effluvium is generally considered as the side effect of cancer treatment regimens such as chemotherapy and radiation.

In patients undergoing chemotherapy, hair may fall out in large clumps. Cytostatic cancer chemotherapy is to block rapid cell proliferation. These medications, apart from blocking the rapid proliferation of cancer cells also block proliferation of hair matrix cells.

However, many cytotoxic medications and toxic chemicals, including bismuth, copper, cadmium, mercury, boron and thallium, may also induce termination of rapid hair growth phase. These antagonistic factors of mitosis and metabolism interrupt or arrest the cell division in the hair matrix. Consequently the hair shaft gets, partially keratinized, narrowed and weakened at the root and becomes vulnerable to fracture and break at minimal stress like combing, wearing head covers or friction during sleep.

Certain conditions like extreme malnutrition, protein energy malnutrition, extensive seborrhoeic dermatitis and dermatoses, extreme iron and zinc deficiency, excess of vitamin A, oral contraceptives caused hormonal imbalances, secondary syphilis, use of tyrosine kinase inhibitors, severe debilitating diseases also can cause anagen effluvium. In some cases autoimmune and inflammatory conditions like alopecia areata and pemphigus can affect the anagen phase and cause sudden alopecia.

Diagnosis

Hair-pull test with gentle traction and trichogram are usually done to diagnose the type of hair loss. The shed hair are observed under light microscope to differentiate the anagen and telogen phases. The anagen effluvium hair shaft can easily be differentiated from telogen hair. The telogen hair shows depigmentation at the root end with bulb at the root. The anagen effluvium hairs are fully pigmented and have tapered or feathered root ends. In the differential diagnosis of anagen hair loss, alopecia areata must be ruled out.

Treatment of anagen effluvium

Covering the scalp during chemotherapy with cooling pads or caps is found to temporarily slow down and suspend the blood circulation to the hair follicles as well as the hair matrix cell division. Scalp hypothermia stops the hair matrix cells from taking up the cytostatic medicine and getting damaged.

However, any cancer cell in the cooled scalp area may also escape from damage. Hence any effort to protect the hair matrix from damage may also protect the cancer cells in the scalp. Scalp tourniquet is also used to apply pressure on the scalp to get the same results as in cool pad.

As anagen effluvium is almost certain to follow chemotherapy or radiation therapy, patient must be mentally prepared to face the situation. Cutting the hair short or shaving the scalp is a better option for the patient than having hair as patches on the head. The cancer patient will already be in a state of great mental stress due to the ailment. To reduce the stress from the balding appearance practical medical-aesthetic advice is needed. The patient may be encouraged to wear wigs or to cover the head with hat or scarf to disguise anagen effluvium.

Every cloud has a silver lining. With the completion of the cancer treatment, the hair loss may reverse and anagen phase may resume. In other cases removing or curing the triggering condition will help.

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Reference:
1.Kanwar AJ, Narang T. Anagen effluvium. Indian J Dermatol Venereol Leprol. 2013; Sep-Oct;79(5):604-12.

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Friday, August 1

Alopecia areata barbae causes - Alopecia barbae treatments

Home › Alopecia areata totalis › Alopecia areata barbae causes - Treatments for alopecia areata barbae.

What is alopecia areata barbae?
Alopecia areata barbae is hair loss as patches in the beard area.

Alopecia areata barbae is a non contagious condition affecting a very small percentage of men. It has no specific cause and there is no standard treatment. It is considered to be an autoimmune disorder. The immune mechanism mistakenly identifies the hair follicle as an antigen and attacks it. This autoimmune activity leads to inflammation of the hair follicles and the detachment of the affected hair. Hereditary predisposition is also a major contributing factor for developing Alopecia areata barbae.

Those men suffering from spotted hair loss on the scalp may or may not develop A. areata barbae. The disorder can also affect apparently perfectly healthy men having no problem on the scalp. In some cases the disorder may resolve by itself and disappear. In some men AA. barbae may recur. The affected area may remain as a patch or progress to cover the entire beard. In rare cases there may be involvement of nails like pitting, thinning or detachment from the nail bed. In rare cases burning, itching or tingling sensation is experienced in the affected skin.

Causes of alopecia areata barbae

Though it known that autoimmune reactions are the cause of hair loss, it is not still clearly understood why the hair loss appears as patches on the scalp and/or beard area and why particularly certain areas are only being targeted.

Stratum granulosum function | Stratum lucidum function | Stratum spinosum function | Basal cell layer | Stratum corneum function

It also not clear why perifollicular accumulation of antigen-presenting cells occurs at the site of AA. barbae. Hormonal imbalances, extreme mental or physical stress, environmental stress, allergic reactions, chemicals and presence of autoimmune diseases may contribute or trigger AA. barbae disorder.

Diagnosis and differential diagnosis

Differential diagnosis has to be done to rule out certain conditions wherein hair loss occurs in the beard area. Infection or inflammation of the follicles as in tinea barbae and folliculitis barbae may sometimes cause temporary or permanent damage to hair follicles and the affected area may appear as hairless patch after resolution of the condition.

Homemade face moisturizer | Dry skin moisturizers | What causes dry skin | What is dry skin | Olive oil for dry skin

Pseudofolliculitis barbae (shave bumps) affected skin may also show patches of hair loss in the affected area after the resolution. In such conditions the observed hair loss on the beard area is not alopecia areata barbae.

Treatment options

Early diagnosis and treatment can prevent aggravation and mental stress. Shaving daily is the immediate treatment. Immunosuppression of cytokines responsible for the inflammatory reactions is the best treatment option. Immunosuppression causes inhibitory effect on the autoimmunity at the site of AA. barbae.

Oily skin tips | Oily skin treatment | Skin care routine | Wrinkle free skin care | Idiopathic guttate hypomelanosis

Intralesional corticosteroid injections or topical corticosteroids shows good results but prolonged use can lead to thickening or thinning of the skin. Minoxidil, an antihypertensive vasodilator medication is found to promote regrowth of hair. Anthralin, a synthetic anti-psoriatic medication controls progress of alopecia areata barbae and promotes hair growth.

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Current topic in dynamic natural skin care: Causes of alopecia areata barbae and its treatment.

Get glowing skin complexion. Remove acne scars and blemishes from face.

Tuesday, October 22

Homemade moisturizers - Homemade treatments

Skin care › Homemade treatments - Homemade moisturizers

Homemade moisturizers and treatments are safer to skin, easier to prepare and are less expensive when compared to cosmetic products purchased from stores.

Homemade moisturizers and treatments made from kitchen ingredients can increase fairness and give glowing complexion. Many environmental, hormonal and nutritional factors make the skin leathery, oily or dry. These conditions lead to freckles, age spots, acne scars, liver spots and other discolorations and hyperpigmentations. Special homemade preparations can target and correct specific skin problems.

Homemade face moisturizers

Skin naturally contains moisture and this water content makes it soft, supple and glowing. However this moisture is lost to the environment due to exposure to sun, heat, cold, winds and chemicals. The dehydration can lead to many dermal problems. Application of homemade moisturizers, especially before going to bed can help the skin in regaining the lost moisture.

Read more about homemade face moisturizer recipes.

Homemade dry skin moisturizers

Dry skin condition is brought about by nutritional deficiencies, poor quality moisturizers and cosmetics, mental and physical stress, unbalanced diet and dermal ailments. In such situations the pH balance of the skin is disturbed leading to loss of moisture from the epidermis. Oil-based moisturizers can corrected the dry skin (aka xerosis or xeroderma). Preparations containing olive oil, rosehip oil, castor oil, shea butter, almond oil and other vegetable oils are effective and are easy to prepare.

Read more about homemade dry skin moisturizers.

Homemade treatments for dry skin

The basic problems with dry skin are dehydration of stratum corneum layer of epidermis and reduced production of skin oil (sebum) by the sebaceous glands. The smoothness and glide of the skin is brought about by the sebum filling up the intercellular spaces in the epidermis. Correcting the dryness skin has to first start with the treatment of nutritional deficiencies of fatty acids, vitamins and minerals. Insufficient intake of water can also lead to dry skin conditions. Further, early treatment of skin diseases is a must in order not to end up with xeroderma.

Read here more about homemade treatments for dry skin.

Homemade treatment for oily skin

For the treatment of oily skin, we have to go the root cause. In many instances oily skin condition is familial, being prevalent among the family members. In such hereditary conditions one has to put up with the problem or continuously use preparations to blot the oil. Homemade applications can reduce the oiliness. Steaming the face can open up the pores and drain the excess oil. Periodical exfoliation can also keep the pores open and drain the oil.

Homemade skin whitening tips and treatments

Many homemade preparations are very effective in increasing the fairness. Lemon juice is used to mildly exfoliate and remove the dead skin and expose the healthy young skin. Free radicals stimulate melanin production leading to darkening of the skin. Tomato juice and orange juice contain antioxidants and inhibit melanin production and darkening of the skin.

Read more about homemade skin whitening tips.

Homemade olive oil moisturizer

Olive oil as such is a good moisturizer and it can be blended with many ingredients to make ideal treatments of our choice. The antioxidants present in the olive oil protect the skin from oxidative damage from sunlight as well as from free radicals formed in the skin.
Oxidative damage is the primary cause of age spots, wrinkles and other blemishes formed on the skin.

Read more about homemade olive oil moisturizer recipes.

Current topic: Homemade moisturizers and treatments

Get glowing skin complexion. Remove acne scars and blemishes from face.

Sunday, February 10

Homemade skin treatments and skin care

Home > Homemade skin treatments and skin care

Skin care and homemade skin treatments have been around for thousands of years. Apart from being inexpensive, these treatments are easy to prepare and use.

These recipes with ingredients from kitchen are safe and effective. Skin, the largest organ of our body, gets continuously exposed to environment, chemicals and pollutants. It is the protective covering of all the internal organs systems. In turn, it has to be protected from the environmental elements. Its proper care is very much necessary for the proper functioning of the internal organs as well as the healthy and beautiful looks.

Homemade skin treatment starts with health management

The health of our skin is directly related to our general health and presence of health problems has a telling effect on its condition. If an individual is well-nourished, does not suffer from nutritional deficiencies or excesses and is free from adverse health conditions, then his/her skin, in all probability, will be in prime condition and glowing.

Hydration of the body for skin moisturization

Sufficient moisturization of the epidermis can prevent dermal problems. Not drinking sufficient quantities of water can lead to the dehydration of the body and epidermis. Chronic dehydration can lead to many health problems. It is recommended that, for every twenty kilograms of body-weight, one liter of water must be consumed daily in normal conditions. In summer and also when the temperatures are high the requirement will be much more. In chronic dehydration, epidermis will become dry, scaly and dull and lose its suppleness, elasticity and glow.

Balanced food for effective homemade skin treatment

The basale layer of epidermis is made of continuously dividing cells. As these cells proliferate and move upwards they undergo many changes and die to form a protective barrier from the external world. For a well moisturized supple and soft dermis this process must go on. These cells require nutrients for their uninterrupted activity.

Proteins: We have to take care to add sufficient proteins from different food sources in our diet. The matrix of dermis is made of collagen connective tissues. Collagen is a group of proteins. Any deficiency in proteins and their constituent amino acids will cause wrinkles and loss of elasticity.

Essential fatty acids: Essential fatty acids are required for the normal function of all body cells. However, excess consumption of fats results in excess fat deposits. Excess carbohydrates are also converted into fats and stored in the body. Excess fats lead to oily conditions and problems like acne.

Vitamins and minerals: Vitamin C and vitamin E are essential for production of collagen, the basic matrix of dermis. The deficiency of vitamins in B complex can give rise to many skin diseases requiring medical treatments. All the above issues can corrected by taking a balanced nutrition.

Exercise as skin treatment

Exercising regularly increases blood circulation to skin. The increase in circulating blood brings more nutrients and oxygen to dermal cells. Increased blood flow to dermis can delay aging, wrinkle formation and prevent acne. Sweating removes the metabolic wastes from the dermis and helps in easy exfoliation.

Understanding your skin type for homemade treatments

A perfect skin is a dream of every person and for many it remains as an illusion. For taking care and devising homemade treatments, in the first place we have to understand our skin type. There are normal, dry, oily, combined and sensitive types and each type requiring altogether a distinct homemade care.

Homemade oily skin care treatments

For oily skin care, homemade treatments focus on,

opening up the pores to remove clogging,
draining the blocked contents,
removing excess oil on the face surface,
bring out face oil stored in the sebaceous glands,
and closing the pores tight to prevent clogging and
taking corrective action to bring down oil output.

The whole process homemade treatments is discussed in great detail at the above link.

Homemade dry skin care treatments

If the dry condition is an annual occurrence in winter you have to evaluate the living room, bed room and work place conditions. It is most likely that they are very dry with low humidity. Try using humidifiers.
If dry condition is a continuous problem, for homemade treatments you should focus on,

correcting your nutritional balance,
scrubbing and exfoliating,
washing face regularly, patting it dry and applying moisturizers like petroleum jelly or olive oil and
making homemade moisturizing a daily habit.

More detailed information on homemade treatments is given in the above subtitle link.

Homemade combined skin care treatments

For combined type at first do the homemade treatments as in oily condition and follow up with moisturizing the dry areas. Please note that effective homemade treatments can be given with ingredients usually available in kitchen at low costs with great ease and with least side effects.

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Current topic: Skin care and homemade skin treatments.

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Wednesday, August 1

Laser skin treatment - Cosmetic Laser

Home › Skin treatments with cosmetic lasers

Laser (light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation) is being increasingly used in cosmetic skin treatments.

Laser technologies are making inroads into traditional beauty and skin care industry and these cosmetic treatments are replacing traditional methods. Of late lasers are being used for skin and beauty care methods like,

skin tightening,
collagen rejuvenation,
laser resurfacing,
freckles, age spots, wrinkles, sun spots and stretch marks removal,
scar removal,
hair removal,
tattoo removal,
laser removal of pigmented lesions,
pseudofolliculitis (shave bumps) removal,
spider veins (telangiectasia) removal,
laser removal of vascular lesions and
removal of warts, rosacea, acne and acne blemishes.

How does cosmetic laser works?

Laser emits intense beam of light energy of a particular wavelength. The narrow intense beam may be visible or invisible depending upon its wavelength. On reaching the target tissues it is absorbed and converted into heat energy inactivating and destroying the target tissue cells without affecting the other surrounding cells.

Image of pseudofolliculitis (shave bumps)
which can be removed by cosmetic laser treatment

Ablative and non-ablative lasers are the two basic types. Ablative lasers remove the top layer of skin. The non ablative devices heat up the inner skin tissue to stimulate collagen deposit and do not affecting the outer epidermis layer.

The facial plastic surgeon is the right person for deciding on the type of cosmetic laser therapy to be undertaken, considering all the pros and cons of the options available. Depending upon the plan of action and strategy and the blemish involved one may need more than one session at the clinic.

After the completion of the laser session, the patient may develop swelling and reddening of the skin. He may be prescribed anti inflammatory medicine and antibiotics to reduce inflammation and to prevent infection. The full impact of the method will be apparent only after one or two months.

The effectiveness of the cosmetic treatment depends upon choice of the right type of laser device, training and skill of the operator of the device and the correct settings of wave length, power, pulse, duration and time lapse between the pulse.

Risks associated with cosmetic Laser treatment

If proper eye protection is not worn during the performance there is a risk of eye damage.
Pain, reddening, burns, inflammation and swelling are the usual after effects.
The healing process may get prolonged for some individuals. The inflammation may get infected in some cases.
There may be hypopigmentation or hyperpigmentation of the wound (which is usually temporary).
In some cases the change in pigmentation may become permanent.
In case of use of wrong device or improper methodology permanent scars may result.
Though each session may be short, the whole procedure may be time consuming requiring several trips.
Cosmetic laser treatments are usually expensive.
The effectiveness may vary from person to person and some having complete satisfaction and some getting disappointed with the result.

Contraindications for cosmetic Laser treatments

These methods are absolutely contraindicated in the following situations like,

pregnancy,
keloid scarring,
severe reactions to earlier treatments,
medications contraindicating bright light exposure of the user,
dermis being sensitive to light exposure,
severe and serious illness and
having implants.

Individuals with chronic diseases must inform their doctor about their ailments and take his advice about undergoing cosmetic Laser treatment.

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Current topic: Cosmetic skin treatment with lasers

Get glowing skin complexion. Remove acne scars and blemishes from face.