Signs and Symptoms of Psoriasis
Psoriasis is a heredity skin disease that is often a lifelong condition. Psoriasis is a chronic disease that affects the skin and joints. Usually your skin “turns over” every 30 to 60 days, but with psoriasis, it occurs every 9 to 12 days. The skin cells are not shed and it creates a layer of excess skin cells over the skin. This appears as patches of red or white scaly, itchy skin.
Proper diagnosis is the first step to psoriasis skin treatment. Water’s Edge is your psoriasis treatment center. Your medical dermatologists can help with diagnosis and a variety of effective treatment options.
Common Signs and Symptoms of Psoriasis Skin Disease
- Areas of red, inflamed skin, covered with white scales. These areas of red are called plaques. Scales are the silvery-white coating over the plaque.
- Psoriasis plaques can itch and can be painful.
- Plaques can appear anywhere on the skin. They are most common on the knees, elbows, lower back and scalp.
- Patches of plaques vary in size and can often merge together into a larger patch.
- Crumbling or detached nails. Discoloration and pits in the nails may occur.
- Flakey, white scales on the scalp.
- Bleeding areas where skin is scratched.
Read more about psoriasis skin disease here.
There is no cure for psoriasis. However, it can be controlled with treatments.
Don’t let your psoriasis rule your life. Schedule a consultation with your Water’s Edge medical dermatologist today.
Itchy, Burning Feet? Could be Athlete’s Foot.
Athlete’s foot. Gross, right? Well, it turns out that it is the most common type of fungal infection.
Athlete’s foot is a common fungus. But what does that mean? Let’s check out the technicalities.
Athlete’s foot is also known as tinea pedis. It’s similar to ringworm and jock itch. It is contagious, but can be treated with over-the-counter medications. It is caused by mold-like fungi called dermatophytes. They always are living on your skin, but they don’t grow as long as your skin stays dry and clean. When your skin becomes a damp, closed environment, that’s when the problems begin.
These dermatophytes love tight shoes that squish the toes together to create warm, moist areas between them, damp socks and humid conditions. They are partial to plastic shoes. Athlete’s foot is also more common in men.
Anyone can pick up athlete’s foot. It is as easy as coming in contact with an infected person or contaminated surfaces like floors (locker rooms, saunas, pools and showers), clothes, shoes or bed linens.
If you think you have athlete’s foot, you may have the following symptoms:
- Burning, stinging and itching between your toes
- Burning, stinging and itching on the soles of your feet
- Blisters that itch
- Peeling and cracking skin between your toes and the soles of your feet
- Vast amounts of dry skin on the bottoms or sides of your feet
- Thick, crumbly, ragged, discolored toenails
Or if your foot looks like this, you may have athlete’s foot.
If you have been treating athlete’s foot with over-the-counter medications and the symptoms do not improve or worsen, go see your medical dermatologist.
You can make an appointment at Water’s Edge Dermatology with one of our clinics.
Sunscreen is Beauty’s New Best Friend
We all know sunscreen is an important step in protecting yourself from skin cancer and those painful sunburns. But did you know there is a new reason to slather it on? Water’s Edge Dermatology wants to encourage you to take a couple minutes to reapply sunscreen and make your skin look younger. The National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia funded a study to look for the truth in sunscreen use and dietary supplements such as beta-carotene. After reading their findings, you’ll be searching for that sunscreen bottle.
The researchers down under found more than 900 people under the age of 55 to either slather on sunscreen as per instructions or to keep up their usual routine. They were also given either a beta-carotene supplement or a placebo to test out the effects of dietary supplements meant to prevent skin damage and aging.
After four years of keeping track of all these people’s sunscreen regimen, researchers found that regular sunscreen use does slow the aging of skin while the beta-carotene supplement had no overall effect. The people who reapplied sunscreen on the hour and after getting wet were 24% less likely to show increased aging.
The main reason is the ability of UV-A rays to break down the collagen and elasticity of skin. Collagen isn’t only used to make your lips pouty, it holds your skin together and keeps it looking young. When collagen can’t do its job because of all the UV-A exposure, your skin begins to lose the battle for elasticity and a youthful experience.
So, even if it takes a couple minutes out of your day here or there, try to reapply whenever you can. Water’s Edge even sells non-oily sunscreen. Not only will it help prevent skin cancer, it’ll keep you looking pretty for longer.
The Long and Short of UV rays
Coolers, beach chairs, umbrellas and sunscreen, lots of sunscreen, are popping up in endless colorful displays throughout stores nationwide! This could only mean one thing, summer is on the horizon!
Picking out a sunscreen to protect yourself and your family can be a bit confusing. What brand do I want? What spf do I need? What does UVA and UVB protectants even mean?
Let's start with the basics...
Ultraviolet UV rays are emitted from the sun in three lengths. UVA are the long rays, UVB are the short rays and UVC are absorbed in the ozone layer before they even make it to earth. Over the years research has shown that both UVA and UVB can cause damage to the skin. These rays are proven human carcinogens which means they can cause genetic mutations in the skin leading to skin cancers.
UVA rays are the long rays which can penetrate their way deeper into the skin and are responsible for skin aging and wrinkling. They are present during all daylight hours and remain even throughout the year. The tilt of the earth during various seasons does not change the level of UVA rays found in sunlight. These UVA rays can penetrate clouds and even glass when you are indoors or in your car. As you can see, the recommendation of daily sunscreen as part of a good skin care regimen is important.
UVA rays are responsible for damaging the keratinocytes which are found in the basal layer of the epidermis. Basal cells and squamous cells are both types of keratinocytes. Damage to these cells can lead to to both basal cell carcinoma and/or squamous cell carcinoma which are the first and second most common forms of skin cancer.
UVB are the short rays which penetrate and damage the more superficial layers of the skin known as the epidermal layers. These short rays are responsible for burning and reddening of the skin. The intensity of the UVB rays varies with season, location and time of day. UVB rays are most intense between the hours of 10am to 4pm from April through October. Avoidance of the sun during these peak hours is an effective way to prevent skin damage. Although at higher altitudes and with reflection on ice or snow, UVB rays can cause damage throughtout the year. In contrast to UVA, UVB do not significanlty pass through glass.
Protection is Key!
Now that we know both UVA and UVB rays can cause long lasting skin damage what do we do? Protecting yourself and your family is your primary prevention. Hats, sunglasses, sunscreen and sun protective clothing are key. When choosing a sunscreen read carefully, select a product with "broad-spectrum" coverage for both UVA/UVB protection with as spf of 30 or higher!
Please stay tuned for our second part of sun protection....Choosing Sunscreen, Mineral vs Chemical?
Reference: www.skincancer.org, 2013 The Skin Cancer Foundation | 149 Madison Avenue Suite 901 New York, New York
Skin Cancer Screenings for Skin Cancer Month
According to the American Cancer Society, skin cancer accounts for nearly half of all cancers in the United States, with one in five people having some form of skin cancer. Melanoma, the most serious type of skin cancer, will account for more than 76,600 cases of skin cancer in 2013, resulting in roughly 9,000 deaths annually.
“It’s so unfortunate when a patient waits too long to be screened and melanoma is found way too late, as it’s very treatable if found early,” says Justin Platzer, M.D., a board-certified dermatologist and Mohs skin cancer surgeon at Water’s Edge Dermatology.
Darlene Moore of West Palm Beach, Fla., echoes Dr. Platzer’s sentiment of the importance of diagnosing melanoma early. During a regular skin cancer screening at Water’s Edge Dermatology, Shanna Stone, ARNP, saw a few areas of concern on Ms. Moore’s ear and arm and took biopsies. Ms. Moore was diagnosed with Stage 1 melanoma on her arm and basal cell carcinoma on her ear.
“The basal cell, frankly, I wasn’t as concerned about,” says Ms. Moore. “Dr. Platzer reassured me that Mohs surgery was very effective for basal cell carcinoma and he was able to get it all. But I was really concerned about melanoma, because my brother-in-law died of melanoma.”
Surgery is the best way to remove early melanomas, with later stages usually requiring more extensive treatment, such as radiation and chemotherapy. Mohs surgery saves the greatest amount of healthy tissue, appears to reduce the rate of local recurrence and has the highest overall cure rate — about 94 percent to 99 percent — of any treatment for squamous cell carcinoma. And generally, Mohs surgery is 98 percent or better for basal cell carcinoma, according to the Skin Cancer Foundation.
“As the old saying goes, ‘An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure,’” says Dr. Platzer. “Say no to tanning beds and always wear sunscreen. And, if you live in sunny Florida, it is critical to have regular skin cancer screenings — and there’s no better time than this month, Skin Cancer Month.”
Many of Water’s Edge Dermatology clinics are open Saturdays and late during the workweek. To make an appointment, visit www.WeDerm.com and fill out the online appointment form, email info@WeDerm.com or call (561) 694-9493 for more information.