For some reason we human beings tend to dismiss problems of the skin as minor or of little concern. We forget that the skin is the body’s largest living organ. As such, it is subject to disease, just like any other organ of the body.
Let’s take a look of four common diseases of the skin, what causes them, what symptoms they exhibit, how they are diagnosed, and what can be done to cure them.
All of us have had the misfortune of getting a skin rash or two during our lifetime. Most of the time we dismiss them as nothing to worry about. Unfortunately, that can be a costly mistake. Care must be taken to determine the cause behind a skin rash to make certain that proper treatment is applied in a timely manner.
One of the most common adult skin rashes is due to allergic reaction. We can be allergic to everything from the foods that we eat to the medications that are meant to help make us feel better. In truth, we humans can develop a skin rash allergic reaction to almost anything.
Some of the most common culprits include plants (like poison ivy), hair dyes, cosmetics, perfumes, soaps and detergents. But some individuals can’t wear certain types of fabrics or use rubber or plastic products because they are allergic to the chemicals used to process them.
This type of skin disease is called contact dermatitis. It comes about because of something that the skin has touched to which it is allergic. Contact dermatitis can either be localized – – appear only where the body came in contact with the allergy driven object – – or it can be wide spread throughout the body.
Symptoms:
Contact dermatitis will often change the color of the skin, turning it anything from a pale pink to a bright red, depending upon the severity of the allergic reaction. Sometimes, it can even change the texture of the skin around the rash area; making the it swell slightly, appear dry, or even give it a scaly appearance.
Although these rashes can remain just under the surface of the skin where you can see them but not really “feel” them, they more often than not leave bumps or blisters on the surface of the skin that can be both painful and annoying due to their itchy sensation.
Personal Experience:
In the mid-80’s I broke out in one of the weirdest rashes I’d ever seen. It was located primarily on the trunk of my body; rather than on my arms and legs. Nothing appeared on my face at all. It took my doctor and I several weeks to discover that I was having an allergic reaction to something new within the laundry detergent that I had been using for years.
Because my clothes primarily covered the mid-section of my body, that is where the rash occurred. Once I stopped using the detergent and re-washed all of my clothing, the rash eventually faded away. However, it taught me a valuable lesson; not to assume that something I had used before was automatically safe to use again.
Solution and/or Treatment:
Those who have sensitive skin or who are prone to skin rashes, must remember to check the ingredients of all products they use on, or around, their skin from time to time. Formulas often change in order to cut costs or because supposedly something new and better has come along. However, those changes can result in painful skin irritation for those with sensitive skin like me.
In most instances, avoidance of those things to which the skin is allergic will solve the situation. However, once the skin has come in contact with the offending object, treatment may be required. This most often involves the appropriate type of topical cream or ointment and time. Rarely, it may also require medication that can be prescribed by a physician.
Boils Caused by Staphylococcus Infection
A more serious skin disease is that which occurs as the result of a staphylococcus infection. Most staph bacteria are relatively harmless to the skin. In fact, our bodies are flooded with these types of bacteria. It is most prevalent around the genital areas and around the mouth and nose.
However, the tiniest scratch or smallest wound can give staph a place to breed and become something much more deadly in nature if it isn’t diagnosed and treated in time.
One form of staph, which is called staph aureus, causes most of the skin infections with which we are most familiar. A good example is that of boils. A boil is a skin abscess that is kicked-started, so to speak, by the presence of staph aureus.
Symptoms:
Boils sometimes begin as nothing more than a red, tender bump in the skin. But, over time, rather than receding and eventually fading away, instead it grows larger, harder, and develops a “head.” Directly underneath the head a group of white blood cells form as the body attempts to fight the staph infection. This leads to what is most commonly referred to as “pus.”
Once the boil has gotten to this point, it generally must be opened in order to allow the pus to drain out through the surface of the skin. Depending upon the size, shape, and amount of pus involved, it may be necessary to treat the area with topical antibiotics.
In severe cases, injections or additional oral antibiotics may also be required in order to make certain that the staph infection is destroyed. Otherwise, it could simply start the process over again or move on to another part of the body, creating even more havoc.
Boils can occur at any age, but tend to happen more often amongst adults.
Personal Experience:
When I was in the fifth grade, I went to summer camp with my church. During the time there, I developed a boil on the back of my knee. I tried to ignore it but it eventually got so large and painful that I couldn’t even walk.
My camp counselors had to take me into town to a doctor to have the boil lanced. By that time, the staph infection had moved into my bloodstream and an antibiotic injection as well as oral medication was required.
As a child, I would probably have continued to ignore the problem because I didn’t know any better. Had that happened, I might have done serious damage to my body by allowing the staph infection to spread further. Thanks to some excellent camp counselors, however, I was able to rest for a couple of days and then get right back to having fun at camp instead.
Solution and/or Treatment:
A note of clarification should be made here. Not all boils are caused by staph infection. Some are due to more common things like ingrown hair, something inadvertently lodged within the skin, or even because of plugged sweat glands.
However, it is impossible to know the cause of a boil unless a doctor examines it. Staph infection is a possible cause and can never be ignored.
Melanoma:
Melanoma is a dangerous form of skin cancer. It is the leading cause of death amongst those suffering from skin disease.
Symptoms:
It most often manifests itself in a body mole or skin lesion. Moles, for example, instead of being round, may appear flat and may also be irregularly shaped. The color is often unusually dark – – brown to almost black.
Other skin lesions may appear out of nowhere and exhibit nothing more than a change in skin pigmentation. Some melanomas appear without exhibiting any color at all. Others may appear blue-black or blue-red in color. The common thread running throughout, however, is that these skin conditions continue to grow and change; issuing the body a warning to seek assistance.Melanoma can spread very quickly.
Most doctors apply something called the ABCD system in diagnosing melanoma.
A stands for asymmetry. In nearly all melanoma situations, one half of the affected skin area is different from the other half.
B stands for borders. Most melanoma growths have edges that are irregular in size and shape.
C stands for color. It is important to watch for patches of skin that suddenly develop an unusual color as well as for moles and skin lesions that suddenly change color.
D stands for diameter. Watch for growth in moles and other skin lesions. Melanomas generally grow quite large.
Personal Experience:
Skin melanoma runs in my family. My great-grandmother on my mother’s side of the family had half of her nose removed due to skin cancer. That, of course, made her the ridicule and butt of many jokes in her younger years and the object of pity during her courting years.
However, my great-grandfather never seemed to notice her slight deformity. He always called her the most beautiful woman in the world and I wholeheartedly agree.
In the early 90’s, I began experiencing some problems with a skin irritation on the side of my nose. Aware of the melanoma that has run throughout my family history, I immediately brought it to the attention of my military doctor. He told me it was just irritated because of makeup.
For awhile, it seemed that he might be correct. I stopped wearing foundation and the irritation seemed to heal. However, it kept coming back.
Over and over again, I brought it to the attention of my doctors. Over and over again, they ignored my concerns, until the late 90’s when I was assigned to a new Physician’s Assistant. She took one look at the problem area and immediately set up an appointment with a local oncologist. The next day, I was in surgery, having melanoma removed from my nose.
I admit that I was terrified. Each time he came back in to cut out more skin, I thought he might not be able to get it all. After five more incisions, the last of which was less than one hair’s width from right eye, he pronounced that it appeared he had finally gotten it all.
I was lucky. Had it spread further, I would have surely lost an eye; maybe even more. Instead, I ended up with a scar that can be barely noticed at all.
Solution and/or Treatment:
Treatment for melanoma involves surgical removal. Sometimes additional radiation or chemotherapy may also be required.
Tumors:
A common problem among most humans is something referred to as “skin tags.” A skin tag is basically a form of skin tumor.
Symptoms:
A skin tag is a bit of skin that sticks out from the surrounding skin area. It can even look as though it is separate and simply attached to the skin.
Skin tags vary in the way they look and feel. They can be smooth or bumpy in texture and they can retain the same color tone as the rest of the skin or they can develop a darker, pigmented color.
These irritating little pieces of skin can happen anywhere on the body, but for some reason like to form on eyelids, around the neck and upper arm or chest area, or around the groin.
While anyone can get skin tags, they become more prevalent as the skin ages and for some reason happen more often in women than in men.
Solution and/or Treatment:
Almost all skin tags are harmless. They look and feel worse than they really are. However, it is possible for them to become infected; particularly if they are located somewhere on the body where a great deal of friction occurs.
Skin tags are generally removed one of two ways. Most are removed by freezing the area with liquid nitrogen. Depending on the size of the tag and how it was attached to the skin, it might also be necessary to tie it off with sutures to make sure the blood supply is cut off. In the event of unusually large growths, the tag must be removed by surgical procedure.
Personal Experience:
I had a skin tag from my inside thigh removed a few years back. Because I was heavily into exercise at the time, it was constantly irritated and became infected. Unfortunately, my doctor froze and removed the tag and did not cut off the blood source. Consequently, it has grown back. Therefore, those not wishing to experience a similar experience, may want to request a complete removal as opposed to the freezing procedure.
We humans must live with our skin for the rest of our lives. It, unlike so many other organs, cannot be replaced. Therefore, it behooves us to take the best care of it possible. That requires diligence and our part and the care and wisdom of an excellent physician.
