Is there a moisturiser available that can moisturise the deep layers of the skin, leaving your skin refreshed and rejuvenated? Well, a number of reputed cosmeceutical companies claim that their products achieve this. For eg. see this advert from Dove: (read the text carefully to see if you can spot the deception).   At the […]

The sunscreen industry is thriving on consumer demand in recent years, fuelled by the increasing skin cancer rates. However how many of the claims made by the sunscreen industry are true and do you really know what you think you know? Let us examine these notions further:   Myth #1: Sunscreens protect us from skin […]

In recent years, propranolol has emerged as the wonder drug for treating vascular birth marks(called Haemangioma’s) in infants. These can often grow to large sizes, distorting the facial features, and sometimes causing blindness, life-threatening bleeding and even death. However, a few years ago, Propranolol (a drug used normally to reduce blood pressure) was accidentally discovered […]

“Nothing is free. Everything has to be paid for. For every profit in one thing, payment in some other thing. For every life, a death. Even your music, of which we have heard so much, that had to be paid for. Your wife was the payment for your music. Hell is now satisfied.- Ted Hughes, […]

What is a moisturiser? Moisturisers are substances which prevent drying of the skin by either adding moisture orpreventing evaporation of the existing natural moisture in the skin. What is my skin type? Before we discuss further and decide on a moisturiser, it is important to determine what skin type we are dealing with. Most people […]

  Skin rashes are often itchy and invariably there is a tendency to scratch, due to the immense, almost orgasmic relief experienced on scratching. However does this mean scratching is good for you? Scratching is a natural response ingrained into our neural network, aimed to scratch away insects and other objects that might be irritating the skin. Scratching away […]

Dermatitis Herpetiformis is an autoimmune skin disease, related to coeliac disease. Both diseases are exacerbated by gluten containing foods. Gluten is a protein present in a number of foods and is generally very safe. However between 1 in 400 to 1 in 10000 people can be allergic to gluten, producing bowel symptoms (coeliac disease) and/or a blistering […]

Strange as it may sound, Helicobacter, the bacteria discovered not too long ago to be responsible for stomach ulcers, may also be responsible for some cases of Chronic urticaria (hives). The authors below publish a well designed study that shows that some patients with Chronic anti-histamine resistant urticaria, can be cured with treatment aimed at […]

The authors below have given an excellent summary of what is called Cutaneous Recall Phenomenon. This is usually seen in cancer patients treated initially with radiotherapy. Subsequent treatment with chemotherapy then produces a inflammatory skin rash, only on the part of the skin exposed to Radiotherapy. This is quite an interesting and intriguing phenomenon, believed to be […]