Skin is the largest organ, but not all skin is the same. Skin structure and the way it behaves differs slightly according to where it is on your body. Not all skin gets the same treatment either. There is a number of differences between the skin on different parts of the body. There are even differences in the skin from one part of face to the next. Your skin makes cover your entire body, but its thickness varies, padding parts of your body are more prone to wear and tears with thick skin and placing thinner skin on the parts of your body that take less of a beating. Also, the distribution of cells varies throughout the body. In general, the epidermis of the face is thinner than the epidermis of rest of your body except on the genitals.
Our face is the most noticeable part of our body. It reflects the different needs of skin across the body. Facial skin may be a key indicator of our overall health. Facial skin is the most exposed part of body to the UV rays and hence more susceptible to the aging effect of UV radiation. It takes the maximum beatings as compared to other parts of skin of our body. That’s why you need to take more care of your facial skin than the skin elsewhere on your body. Also, the skin on your face is more sensitive to the hormonal changes in your body. As the skin of our face has the maximum number of sebaceous glands, totally affects the type of skin- dry, oily, sensitive. The top layer of your facial skin is more delicate than the skin of rest of your body. That’s why our facial skin gets easily damaged and sensitive compared to other parts of the body. Hence, it requires very gentle and special care. Never use a regular body cleanser on your face or else it can leave your skin dry, can cause breakouts and changes in color and texture. Also, water is lost from the facial skin more quickly, which can leave it dry and flaky.
Some skin conditions can be minor and temporary while others can be permanent and life-threatening. Most of the skin conditions can have similar symptoms, hence it is very important to understand the difference between them. Here are various skin conditions that are curable and may not be curable but can be managed by medication and by making simple changes in your lifestyle. Here are some symptoms, signs and treatment of various facial skin conditions-
Dry skin
The skin has a natural barrier, consist of oil, water and some natural moisturizing factors. Disturbance in any of these can cause a disturbance in the texture and quality of your skin that may leave your skin with fine lines, flakes, cracking and dry patches. Dry skin often has an environmental cause. Dry skin is not usually serious. In most cases, it is caused by factors like hot or cold weather, low moisture in the air. It is a very common condition occurs usually due to lack of an appropriate amount of water in the epidermis. While dry skin tends to affect males and females equally, older folks are much more prone to dry skin. Dry skin and scratching may result in conditions like dermatitis or eczema where the skin becomes red in addition to dry and scaly. Too much soap, exposure to harsh chemicals, the normal aging process and several other underlying causes can decrease the amount of moisture in your skin. So to treat it, it is is important to identify and tackle any of these factors that may be contributing to dry skin. Some of the very simple tips to avoid skin from becoming dry can be-
- Short showers
- Avoid hot water while taking a shower instead prefer warm
- Use mild soaps
- Moisturize your skin with suitable ingredients. Never forget to re apply your moisturizer when you know your skin is prone to dryness.
Be careful of using over the counter anti-inflammatory and itch suppressing cream or lotion since many of these products contain chemicals that can irritate and cause allergic reactions to dry skin. In most cases, people face the problem of dry skin during winters. In these cases, resume your moisturizing routine and avoid the use of harsh soaps.
Acne
Acne may be a chronic, inflammatory skin condition that causes spots and pimples especially on face, shoulders, back, neck and underarms. Although acne is not a serious health threat, several acne can lead to disfiguring and permanent scarring on face. People are most in danger of developing acne during puberty. During this time your body goes various hormonal changes, which triggers oil production, leading to an increased risk of acne. All the Agnes commonly throughout as a problem of adolescent, it can occur in people of all ages. adult acne has many similarities to adolescent acne which regard to both causes and treatment. Adult acne usually occurs after the age of 25. There are various factors that directly contribute to the development of an acne- excess oil production, clogged pores, bacteria and inflammation. There are also some indirect factors including- hormone, stress, menstrual cycle. Diet can also influence information. Acne comes in different forms
- Papules-
Papules are raised, tiny, red, dome-shaped bumps on skin. In papules, the pores become highly irritated leading to weakening of the walls of pores which eventually leads to breaking of the wall and result in a large pimple. The bacterial growth inside the pimple makes them infectious and painful. They usually occur when the clogging causes a hair follicle to become inflamed. Salicylic acid is an effective agent for preventing the clogged pores that lead to papules. Benzoyl peroxide is also a good alternative.
- Pustules-
A pustule is a papule that is filled with pus due to infection of the pores. They usually present as White bumps surrounded by red skin. They are smaller than 5 to 10 mm in size. Some pustules are sterile and are due to inflammation skin disease. You should not pop pustules yourself in hope of obtaining a quick fix cure. It can lead to permanent scarring. Pustules can be easily differentiated from papules by their appearance. Papules have no pus, but pustules have whitish or yellowish appearance filled with pus. To get rid of pustular acne, it is important to use right potent ingredients like salicylic acid, benzoyl peroxide, sulphur along with some skin-soothing ingredients like aloe vera to reduce inflammation.
- Nodules-
Nodules are hard, solid, round-shaped, reddish, painful breakouts. It is a very serious skin infection. They have a tendency of penetrating deep into the layer of skin causing severe breakouts. Unlike regular acne, which gets heal within a few days, nodular acne may last for weeks or even a month. They are hard to touch and very sensitive. Nodular acne forms when a bacteria called p acne gets trapped inside the clogged pores and hence affects the deeper layer of skin.
- Cystic acne-
cystic acne is the final stage of progression of acne and if left untreated it can lead to permanent scarring. It is the most traumatic type of acne. It consists of tender, inflammatory nodules deep underneath your skin. They are clogged pores filled with oil and dead skin that have become inflamed. They turn into cystic acne when the pole raptures underneath the skin, causing the inflammation to spill out into the surrounding tissue. Your body in defense forms a cyst around it to stop the information from spreading further.
Treating acne or an acne scar is not an easy task and take hell lot of an effort. In many cases, acne does not require any serious medical care. It can be controlled by little changes in your diet and lifestyle like- avoiding spicy and oily food, washing face twice daily, removing makeup before bed, applying sunblock daily, avoid stress as stress hormone may trigger acne breakouts. To treat mild to moderate acne various home remedies can also be used like lemon, aloe vera, apple cider vinegar, tomatoes. All acnes are commonly treated with cream, ointment. If not, medical advice is required.
Lupus
Lupus is a chronic autoimmune disease that affects various parts of your body like skin, joints and various other organs. Lupus affects the skin in various ways like rashes or source, most of which appear on sun-exposed areas such as the face, ears, neck, arms and legs. About 60 to 70% of people in lupus involves skin problem. The rashes seen in lupus are often specific in shape and pattern. Rashes caused by lupus gets better after a few days or weeks but can last longer or even be permanent. The skin manifestation in lupus varies from person to person. Rashes caused by lupus can sometimes be itchy and painful. The classical skin problem in lupus is the butterfly rash or malar rash. It is an acute manifestation of lupus and present in around 45 to 65% of patients. The rash is characterized by asymmetrical fixed erythematous maculopapular lesion with a slide scale according to both cheeks and nose. There is no permanent cure for lupus. The treatment depends on the symptoms you present. Medications like nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs like Ibuprofen or naproxen, hydro oxy chloroquine can be helpful in treating and preventing the flares.
Eczema
It is a very common type of inflammatory reaction which has characteristic of erythema, edema, papules encrusting of skin followed finally bye thickening and scaling of skin. It causes itching and burning of the skin. It usually begins in childhood and mostly seen in families with a history of asthma and hay fever. Symptoms may vary from a mild rash to more severe conditions that last for a longer time. It is usually seen in babies and children, although it can occur at any age. Eczema usually starts on the face followed by the hands and feet. Also, the skin affected by eczema may be more vulnerable to infection such as warts, cold sores and athlete’s foot. Healthy skin acts as a barrier to retain moisture to protect the body from environmental factors. Any factor that disrupts the ability of skin to act can lead to loss of moisture, causing dryness and entry of allergens, irritants and bacteria which can result in inflammation and infection. Corticosteroid such as hydrocortisone is the drug of choice as it reduces the inflammation in response to an allergic reaction. Antihistamines may also be helpful in controlling the itching.
Rosacea
Rosacea may be a long-term skin condition that typically affects the face. It is a condition in which facial blood vessels enlarge, giving cheeks and nose a flushed appearance. The area of face that gets affected are mainly the forehead, chin and the lower half of the nose. It is characterized by transient or persistent Central facial erythema, flushing, telangiectasia, really dryness of eye, irritation and thickening of tissue especially of the nose and often papules and pustules. Although the cause of rosacea remains somewhat a mystery, it can get easily triggered by the following factors- sun, stress, red wine, spicy foods, wind and cold, some cosmetic products and exercise. Rosacea makes the skin extra sensitive that many things can cause rosacea to flare. Exposure to the sun can lead to an unexpected flashing that lasts for hours which may later cause your face to burn or itch. There is no permanent cure for rosacea but treatment can help keep the symptoms under control. Treatment choices depend on the symptoms which are most troublesome but it usually involves a combination of self-help measures and meditation. There are number of measures you can take to keep the symptoms and control like- avoid things that triggers you like sun, certain medications, taking good care of your skin by using suitable products, taking proper care of papules and pustules caused by rosacea. Topical medications are also available in the form of creams and gels like metronidazole cream, azelaic acid cream. Oral antibiotics are prescribed in case of severe symptoms to reduce inflammation of the skin. Commonly used antibiotics include- tetracycline, doxycycline and erythromycin. Oral isotretinoin can be used to treat severe breakouts.
Granuloma faciale
Granuloma faciale is a very rare benign chronic skin disease of an unknown etiology, characterized by single or multiple cutaneous, erythematous, papules, plaques or nodules. It is usually seen over the face and most commonly in males. It may vary in size from few millimetres to several centimetres and usually present as reddish-brown to a purplish hue. On a closer look, it may present few hair follicle openings and overlying dilated blood vessels.It is usually seen on area exposed to sun and legion dark in with UV exposure, which means sun exposure and UV radiation play a major role in the development of granuloma faciale. Treatment options include- topical, intralesional and systemic corticosteroids, topical tacrolimus, topical and systemic dapsone, systemic hydroxychloroquine, clofazimine and tumor necrosis factor-alpha inhibitors. A variety of surgical measures may also be used in the management of granuloma faciale. There are chances of scaring with the meaning of the below mentioned surgical procedures, so the pulse dye laser is preferred. Various surgical measures include- excision of granuloma, dermabrasion, argon laser, electrosurgery, cryotherapy.
Cold sore
Cold sores are small, blister-like lesion that usually appears on lips, chin, cheeks, inside the nostril and rarely on gums on the roof of the mouth. Cold sore usually starts with a tingling eating or burning feeling. The affected area becomes red, swollen and painful as the blisters form. After 2 to 3 days, the blisters rupture and fluid oozes out of it. 4-5 days later after the cold sore appears, it crusts and scabs over. The scab then falls off, leaving skin reddish. It usually takes one to two weeks for a cold sore to heal. There are several medications to reduce the duration of symptoms of a cold sore. Topical medications like benzocaine (5% to 20%), lidocaine (0.5% to 4%), tetracaine (2%) provide symptomatic relief only but do not decrease the healing time. Sunblock may help prevent additional breakouts. Docosanol (10%) is the only production to decrease the healing time. Anti-virals like acyclovir or penciclovir are found to reduce healing time and also relieve the pain associated with the lesion.
