Our best skin tips from 2019

The 7 Signs you may have increased risk of Skin Cancer

If you grew up on the equator, you’re also at higher risk of developing skin cancer. Generally, if you grow up in equatorial regions, you are exposed to more UV light than others, and when that happens in your earlier years, you have an increased risk of sun damage and skin cancer as an adult.

Read the other signs you’re at increased risk by reading the full article here.

Can your Pets Affect your Skin Health?

Some of the most common zoonotic diseases are:

HOOKWORM

Hookworm is a very common parasite that can affect both cats and dogs.

When passed from a pet to their humans, this shows on the skin as an infection, known as a “creeping eruption”.

This conditions presents like a rash, with blisters and severe itching. Generally, your doctor will prescribe an oral medication that will destroy the parasite.

RINGWORM

Ringworm is a condition that is caused by a fungal infection – not actually a worm. It can be passed both from pet to human and human to pet.

Signs of this condition are a scaly crusted rash that may appear as round, red patches on the skin.

Other symptoms include patches of hair loss, scaly scalp, blister like lesions and itching.

Treatment will be dependent on the location and severity of the ringworm infection, and may include a topical application and/or oral anti-fungal medication.

BACTERIAL SKIN INFECTIONS

Bacterial skin infections from our pets can be passed to us through contact with their urine, faeces, saliva or fur.

Among the more common and serious bacteria that our fury friends can share is staphylococcus – the most likely one to cause a skin infection.

Your doctor will prescribe antibiotic therapy if the infection warrants it.

Read the whole article here.

Cosmetic Tattoos – Everything you should know before you go permanent

There are risks with receiving a tattoo anywhere on the body, and with cosmetic tattoos, these risks can be more obvious or worrying because they are on the face and around the eyes.

Allergic reactions to pigments in the ink is not common but can be severe. The reaction can spread over a much wider surface area of the skin that what has been tattooed so can look alarming and unsightly.

Such reactions can include granulomas (lumps of connective tissues surrounding the foreign body in the skin) forming round eyes and lips; red and angry looking rashes; keloids (raised, over-grown scars) which are red and tend to itch.

Treating these reactions can be tricky because the irritant is now in your skin not on it. Because many tattoo inks do not have labelled ingredients, doctors can not tell what the specific irritant is and it often can’t be traced.

Remedying the outcomes of allergic reactions can even require major reconstructive facial surgery.

Issues with MRIs. While also rare, tattoo ink can interact with the magnetic field of MRIs and may result in swelling and burning. It can also affect the outcome of the MRI image. While this may not be a top-of-mind concern for you, if you’re facing a serious health issue that requires an MRI later in life, it may seem a pity to impair your treatment for serious illness for the convenience of permanent make up.

Other things to remember: for two weeks after your tattoo, avoid sweaty activities such as heavy exercises, saunas and facials, avoid swimming pools too. Oily skinned people’s tattoos may distort or fade more quickly with time and colours can migrate. Using facial products which include active ingredients, such as AHA or retinols, may fade their tattoos more quickly.

Read more about cosmetic tattooing here.

Helping your Teen Develop a Healthy Body Image

Are you modelling a health body image?

When it comes to teens, there’s one clear truth you’ve probably found out the hard way – if you’re not honest, they’ll see it and call you out.

So ask yourself how well you’re modelling a healthy body image to your kids.

Examine your belief system about weight – your own weight and other people’s.

Is it consistent or do you judge your own body more harshly?

Do you hate parts of your body because they’re not perfect?

Are you avoiding dealing with the drivers of your own weight issues, such as loneliness, fear, boredom etc?

Being able to look at how you feel and what you believe, and addressing what you know isn’t great, is a strong first step in building a healthy attitude in your kids.

And watch what you’re saying.

Do you ask “Does my butt look big in this?” or do you make comments like “Look at that beached whale” when you see a larger person on the beach or at the pool?

When you’re watching TV or reading magazines, do you comment on the bodies of celebrities?

Whether you’re commenting about yourself or others, children and teens absorb attitudes and repeat words. What you condone in yourself, they will condone in themselves.

While we want our kids to understand the importance of a healthy body weight, this kind of judgemental attitude will ultimately hurt them and possibly others and it will work against creating the health body image we want for our teens.

So watch what you’re modelling and work on your own problematic thinking and actions first.

Read more of this article here.

Trouble with Your Girl Parts

Common causes of female genital irritation

Many issues experienced in your girl parts will be reactions to irritants in the products you use.

The most common trouble makers are:

Sanitary products.
Sanitary products are designed to absorb moisture but this means they do a good job of drying out your girl parts. But the mucous membranes in the skin need to be moist. Just like the inside of your mouth.

Sanitary products may also contain chemicals which can cause irritation in some people.

Only use sanitary products as long as you have to. Avoid panty liners between periods.

Hygiene products
Products such as soaps, washes, bubble bath, deodorants, perfumes and gels can all cause problems for your girl parts.

Soaps disturbs the pH balance of your genitals. Soap is alkaline while your mucous membranes need to be acidic.

Most soaps are also too caustic for your genitals. A good rule of thumb is that if you wouldn’t put it in your mouth, don’t use it round your genitals.

Don’t douche, as it washes away all your beautiful custom made secretions which are protective of your genitals. Douching replaces them with something which is, at best, second rate.

Lotions and Creams
Most body lotions and creams contain preservatives to keep them usable over time. They can also contain antibacterials, tea tree oil and spermicides. All of these can cause issues for your girl parts.

Body Fluids
Sweat, vaginal secretions, urine, semen and faecal matter can all cause irritation for your genital area.

Read the whole article here.

Staying Healthy in the Smoke Haze this Summer

What smoke inhalation does

When inhaled, smoke and small particles, made up of water vapour, carbon monoxide and ash, can cause short term and long term damage to our respiratory systems. Smoke particles are very fine – 60 times smaller than the width of human hair – and they can lodge deeply in your lungs.

Smoke haze contains particles that can travel hundreds of km and, depending on winds, can continue to float around for days or weeks. So even on days that don’t seem so smoky, particles can still be present.

We’ve all seen what our cars and beaches look like covered in ash and dirt after the rain. That same residue is in the air we’re breathing, so take care and avoid exposing yourself to it more than you have to.

We are also in the middle of a terrible pollen season. The smoke particles can block the immune system from clearing other invaders like pollen and bacteria, making even healthy individuals more likely to get sick.

However, smoke haze can present special health hazards to children, older adults and those with chronic respiratory problems such as asthma, emphysema and heart failure.

Read more tips on surviving the smoke haze this summer here.

Want to read all our blogs?

You can read all of our blogs from 2019, and before, over on our blog page here.

If you’d like an appointment to review your skin in 2020

For most of the conditions we’ve talked about here, we recommend an appointment with our specialist dermatologist, Dr Terence Poon. Dr Terence will be able to assess the condition, determine the underlying problem and recommend the best treatments available to you. We’re on our Summer break right now, but our reception will be open from Monday January 6th. Call (02) 9953 9522.