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Alternative/ complementary medicine in dermatology

  Interesting article that discusses the role of Alternative/ complementary medicine in dermatology. Just confirms what we as dermatologists always knew, that there is no scientific evidence to support the role of these treatment modalities. Moreover, caution has to exercised when using these treatments, as they can often cause severe side effects.   American Journal […]

Psoriasis treatment (adalumimab) can cause skin cancer

Psoriasis treatment (adalumimab) can cause skin cancer: There is a craze for ‘new’ treatments in psoriasis and over the last decade a class of drugs called biologicals have become extremely popular for the treatment of psoriaisis, each drug costing 8-10K GBP/ year/ patient. So are they any good and more importantly are they safe? This […]

The anti-bacterial effects of honey

Quite pleased to get my name in a news item!!: Man cures painful eye infection with 99p jar of honey | Mail Online. http://uk.lifestyle.yahoo.com/99p-jar-of-honey-cures-one-man-s-painful-eye-infection-.html http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/weird-news/2012/07/25/scots-dj-claims-99p-jar-of-honey-has-cured-infection-in-prosthetic-eye-86908-23912646/ Check out this link for more information on the effects of honey on the skin.

Does phototherapy induce autoimmune diseases like lupus?

Interesting research paper that suggests that light treatment (phototherapy), has no significant effect on autoantibody levels and does not induce photosensitive diseases like lupus. I remember one of my senior dermatologist colleagues being quite worried about administering phototherapy to patients with positive ANA antibodies of 1:640 (what is considered normal for approx 5% of the […]

Diagnosis of fungal skin and nail infections

Dermatologists and patients would be interested to know that the Chicago blue-KOH stain can be extremely useful for rapid diagnosis of fungal skin and nail infections. This is a simple bedside procedure where Chicago sky blue 6B (1%) is mixed with an equal volume of 10% KOH in a glass dropper bottle. A drop of […]

Mesotherapy for Skin Rejuvenation

This is the extent to which people go to try and reverse the natural aging process. Did you know that ‘Mesotherapy’, commonly known as “biorejuvenation” or “biorevitalization”, is a technique used to rejuvenate the skin by means of a injection of a multivitamin solution and natural plant extracts, under the skin. I can’t think of […]

sudden whitening/ greying of hair (overnight greying phenomenon)

Did you know that Marie Antoinette’s hair apparently turned grey overnight after hearing news of her death sentence? Whether this is a myth or a true story, the following case report of sudden whitening/ greying of hair, is a true story. The authors report a 82-year old woman who over the course of a few […]

Consult a dermatologist over the telephone/ skype (audio/ video consultation)

Question: Hi, Can i arrange a consultation with Dr. Sasi Attili over the phone please. I live in London and require treatment for some minor scarring on my nose. Can you also tell me the cost of the phone consultation please? Thanks. Answer: Thanks for your contacting us. The fee for a telephone consultation is […]

Facial scrubs and cosmetics can cause Acne!!

  Most women nowadays are obsessed with using various toxic cosmetic chemicals on their face. But do you know that facial scrubs and cosmetics can cause acne?  Below is a case report of three young ladies who developed exactly the same. I often get asked ‘What is the best make up product?’, ‘what is the […]

Herbal/ natural remedies might not always be good for you

For those of you into herbal/ natural remedies, check out the article below, which reports someone who developed a bad blistering reaction called AGEP, after ingesting a herbal oil. As dermatologists we see hundreds of patients every year with bad skin reactions, after using various herbal/ natural products. The point is that just because something […]