Lifestyle Choices

Actinic keratoses(AKs) are flat or slightly raised, sometimes red, scaly patches which appear on the background of sun-damaged skin — especially on the face, the scalps of balding men, the backs of the hands, arms, chest and back. Since they are rough to the touch, AKs are often more easily diagnosed by feel than by observation. They are especially prevalent on fair-skinned people who continue to develop AKs even long after discontinuing sun exposure. AKs are pre-malignant skin growths that can develop into squameous cell carcinomas. They must therefore be treated straightaway, either by cryosurgery or chemotherapy using Effudex (5-fluorouracil) or Actinex (masoproco) cream. These creams cause the skin to become markedly inflamed for at least one week, but there is also some decrease in wrinkles as a bonus! (more…)

Treatment of skin lumps

Cryotherapy

The destruction of skin tumors by bringing the temperature well below freezing point is called cryosurgery. Liquid nitrogen is the most popular refrigerant (temperature in the flask -196°C). It is applied to the skin either on a cotton swab or as a spray through a nozzle from a flask. The use of liquid nitrogen for the treatment of warts is described elsewhere. Other uses are treating seborrheic warts, actinic keratoses (see under sun-induced skin changes) and occasionally small basal cell cancers. (more…)

The medical meaning of the word tumor is simply a swelling or lump raised above the skin surface. Although some tumors are cancers, most are not and the word can be applied to something as harmless as a wart.

Harmless skin lumps of one type or another are exceedingly common: in fact everyone has one or more at some time in their life. Although moles, which are raised, could also be considered here they are dealt with in detail in the section on birthmarks and pigment. This section deals with both harmless or benign lumps as well as true cancers or malignant lumps. (more…)

Viruses

Viruses are even smaller than bacteria and fungi and they are not usually found on normal skin. Many viruses can cause a rash - e.g. measles and glandular fever - but these diseases are not dealt with here. This section describes some virus infections in which either the only signs or the commonest signs of the disease are on the skin.

Warts

It is now known that there are several strains of wart virus and each tends to produce its own type of wart. Some cause the ordinary wart on the hands, others painful warts on the feet; and still others warts on the face or genitals. Warts are caught from other people. This happens easily in children who have not had time to develop immunity to the virus but adults are more resistant. Even when the virus has gained access to the skin it may lie dormant for weeks or months before the wart itself appears. (more…)

….Nobody’s perfect. Everyone is occasionally bothered by small skin problems. The following is a run-down of some common complaints and what you can do about them.

Warts

Warts are hard, raised lumps on the skin that can be unattractive. No, warts are not caused by touching frogs! Warts are actually caused by a virus, and there are many ways to get rid of them. Try salicylic-acid-based remedies found in drug stores.

Some people swear by home folk remedies to get rid of warts. These include rubbing the wart three times a day with a gold ring, covering the wart with a bandage until it disappears, (more…)