What does your skin do?
Your skin shields you from the environment around you. It helps keep disease and toxins from your body. Skin performs vital functions. Nerve endings in your skin make it feasible to feel sensations like hot and cold or pain.. Additionally, it makes it possible to maintain a constant body temperature. Though your skin plays a special role, it also faces some unique threats. Among the biggest dangers to the skin’s health is skin cancer.
Few individuals have flawless skin free of scars, bruises, moles, or other marks. The American Academy of Dermatology (AAD) provides some helpful tips for what to look at when you find an unknown place on your skin. The skin has three layers:
– The skin, which is the layer you see.
– The dermis, which is beneath the epidermis.
– The subcutaneous tissue, which is beneath the dermis.
Why do skin disorders occur?
Skin problems include:
– Fungal, viral, or bacterial infections include shingles, boils, ringworm, warts, cold sores, and athlete’s foot.
– Conditions like psoriasis, eczema, and rosacea.
Psoriasis is a chronic skin problem that causes thick, white, silvery, or reddish patches of skin.
Eczema is a group of long-term skin issues that can cause itching, little bumps that look like blisters, and thickened and scaly skin.
Rosacea is a skin disorder that causes pimples and redness on your cheeks, nose, chin, and forehead.
– Symptoms from food allergies, drug allergies, and other allergies. Symptoms include rashes and hives.
– Skin cancer, such as melanoma, basal, and squamous cells.
What are the risk factors for skin cancer?
The Centers for Disease Control cautions that some people are at higher risk, such as those with:
– A family history of skin cancer
– A lighter natural skin color
– A personal history of skin cancer
– Skin that burns, freckles, quickly or becomes painful on sun
– Blue or green eyes
– Blond or red hair
– Particular types of freckles
– A history of sunburns early in life
– Spending time in the sun
– Indoor tanning
You may not control some items like eye color and family history. However, you can protect yourself from sunlight. According to the Skin Cancer Foundation, 90% of skin cancer occurs on body parts that are usually uncovered. These include the face, neck, ears, and hands. Protecting your skin does not mean staying inside but taking smart measures. Here are some great tips from the experts at the American Cancer Society:
– The sunlight is at its brightest between the hours of 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., so take protective measures to minimize sun exposure or save outside activities for sooner or later in the day.
– Apply sunscreen, even on overcast days. Ultraviolet rays travel through clouds. Cover up with clothing over the skin. Pick comfortable clothes made of tightly woven materials.
– Use an SPF of 15 or greater sunscreen.
– Wear a hat.
– Remember your sunglasses with 99% to 100 percent UV protection.
– Avoid tanning beds and sun lamps.
– Remember that some medications can make your skin more sensitive to sunlight. These include some antibiotics and a few diabetes, cancer, and high-blood-pressure medicine.
– Stay away from tanning beds. Each time you tan, you harm your skin. Tanning beds give off the same UVA and UVB rays as the sun, sometimes in higher amounts.
– Check your skin. Check your skin regularly. The AAD recommends you look over your entire body, including the back, scalp, palms, soles, and between your feet. See your doctor straight away if you discover anything unusual.
Tips for general skin health
– Eat healthy foods. Your skin gains when you eat a lot of vegetables, fruits, and grains. Additionally, it is essential to eat foods that contain protein.
– Don’t smoke directly or indirectly. Cigarette smoke can make your skin age faster. If you need help quitting, talk about stop-smoking apps and medications with your doctor. These may improve your chances of quitting for good.
– Manage stress. Anxiety can make some skin conditions worse. Yoga & meditation can help.
Ayurveda wellness for skin diseases
Ayurveda believes that chronic skin conditions such as psoriasis, eczema, and acne are caused by toxins that are generated by the lungs, blood, and liver imbalances. From an Ayurvedic perspective, skin-disrupting radicals originate from surplus rakta dhatu (blood vessels ), which, together with rasa dhatu (plasma), nourishes the skin. Rakta dhatu gets imbalanced when we endure extreme sun exposure, ingest heating foods, imbibe alcohol or other liver irritants, or experience intense negative emotions. Not surprisingly, pitta-dominant people experience more skin ailments than Vatas or Kaphas. When rasa and rakta dhatus are balanced, the skin is moist, smooth, and glowing. As most cases of contact dermatitis show the consequence of too much pitta, they react well to cooling topical treatments, such as aloe vera and calendula cream.
Traditional Chinese Medicine (Acupuncture)
For centuries, traditional Chinese medicine has used acupuncture and herbs to treat various conditions, from inner health issues to skin ailments, such as psoriasis, acne, psoriasis, alopecia, and many others. Many professionals today continue to employ these methods to treat patients who prefer less invasive and non-chemical therapy. Traditional Chinese medicine views good health as a balance between the body’s internal systems and our environment. Displacement of the equilibrium between energy (Qi), blood, yin, and yang results in the evolution of diseases. The effect of the environment, such as wind, heat, cold, dampness, and dryness, also lead to the illness. Additionally, traditional Chinese medicine views the brain as a strong influence on an individual’s health.
Traditional Chinese medicine is employed in four areas of dermatology: Chang Yang (skin sores), Pi Fu Ling (skin ailments, like eruptions and warts), Gan Men Bing (rectal or anus disorders, like psoriasis ), and Za Bing (other ailments, such as severe abdominal disorders and gangrene). Traditional Chinese medicine uses the Three Yellow Cleanser (San Huan Xi Ji) to deal with about 60 percent of skin ailments, including eczema, psoriasis, dermatitis, rashes, and psoriasis.
The formulation, which has been used for many centuries, is made up of four cleansing herbs using a “cold land” that stops itching (Zhi Yang), clears the internal heat (Qing Re), and prevents secretions (Shou Se) from oozing further. The four herbs — Phellodendron (Huang Bai) and Skullcap (Huang Qin), Rhubarb (Dai Huang), Sophora (Ku Shen)– were put under scientific research and were found to possess antibacterial, anti-fungal and anti-viral qualities. A clinical study suggested that Phellodendron (Huang Bai) is extremely helpful in treating eczema. Besides the extensive use of Chinese herbs, traditional Chinese medicine also recommends acupuncture as a parallel treatment for skin disorders.
