Monday, 29 October 2007
Contents
1) Introduction
2) Skin Cancer
3) Types of Skin Cancer
4) Risk Factors
5) Prevention
6) Symptoms
7) Rashes
8) Hives
9) Eczema
Skin Conditions Also called: Cutaneous disorders, Dermatologic disorders
Introduction - The Skin
The skin is the largest organ of your body. It is, in terms of weight, between 6 and 9 pounds, and surface area, about 2 square yards. Skin separates the inside of the body from the outside. It:
• Protects you from bacteria and viruses
• Helps you sense the outside world, such as whether it is hot or cold, wet or dry
• Regulates your body temperature
Conditions that irritate, clog or inflame your skin can cause symptoms such as redness, swelling, burning and itching. Allergies, irritants, your genetic makeup and certain diseases and immune system problems can cause dermatitis, hives and other skin conditions. Many skin problems, such as acne, also affect your appearance.
The skin has two main layers:
• Epidermis: The epidermis is the top layer of the skin. It is mostly made of flat cells. These are squamous cells. Under the squamous cells in the deepest part of the epidermis are round cells called basal cells. Cells called melanocytes make the pigment (color) found in skin and are located in the lower part of the epidermis.
• Dermis: The dermis is under the epidermis. It contains blood vessels, lymph vessels, and glands. Some of these glands make sweat, which helps cool the body. Other glands make sebum. Sebum is an oily substance that helps keep the skin from drying out. Sweat and sebum reach the surface of the skin through tiny openings called pores.
Skin Cancer
Skin cancer begins in cells, the building blocks that make up the skin. Normally, skin cells grow and divide to form new cells. Every day skin cells grow old and die, and new cells take their place.
Sometimes, this orderly process goes wrong. New cells form when the skin does not need them, and old cells do not die when they should. These extra cells can form a mass of tissue called a growth or tumor.
Growths or tumors can be benign or malignant:
• Benign growths are not cancer:
o Benign growths are rarely life-threatening.
o Generally, benign growths can be removed. They usually do not grow back.
o Cells from benign growths do not invade the tissues around them.
o Cells from benign growths do not spread to other parts of the body.
• Malignant growths are cancer:
o Malignant growths are generally more serious than benign growths. They may be life-threatening. However, the two most common types of skin cancer cause only about one out of every thousand deaths from cancer.
o Malignant growths often can be removed. But sometimes they grow back.
o Cells from malignant growths can invade and damage nearby tissues and organs.
o Cells from some malignant growths can spread to other parts of the body. The spread of cancer is called metastasis.
Types of Skin Cancer
Skin cancers are named for the type of cells that become cancerous.
The two most common types of skin cancer are basal cell cancer and squamous cell cancer. These cancers usually form on the head, face, neck, hands, and arms. These areas are exposed to the sun. But skin cancer can occur anywhere.
• Basal cell skin cancer grows slowly. It usually occurs on areas of the skin that have been in the sun. It is most common on the face. Basal cell cancer rarely spreads to other parts of the body.
• Squamous cell skin cancer also occurs on parts of the skin that have been in the sun. But it also may be in places that are not in the sun. Squamous cell cancer sometimes spreads to lymph nodes and organs inside the body.
If skin cancer spreads from its original place to another part of the body, the new growth has the same kind of abnormal cells and the same name as the primary growth. It is still called skin cancer.
Risk Factors
Research has shown that people with certain risk factors are more likely than others to develop skin cancer. A risk factor is something that may increase the chance of developing a disease.
Studies have found the following risk factors for skin cancer:
• Ultraviolet (UV) radiation: UV radiation comes from the sun, sunlamps, tanning beds, or tanning booths. A person's risk of skin cancer is related to lifetime exposure to UV radiation. Most skin cancer appears after age 50, but the sun damages the skin from an early age.
UV radiation affects everyone. But people who have fair skin that freckles or burns easily are at greater risk. These people often also have red or blond hair and light-colored eyes. But even people who tan can get skin cancer.
People who live in areas that get high levels of UV radiation have a higher risk of skin cancer. In the United States, areas in the south (such as Texas and Florida) get more UV radiation than areas in the north (such as Minnesota). Also, people who live in the mountains get high levels of UV radiation.
UV radiation is present even in cold weather or on a cloudy day.
• Scars or burns on the skin
• Exposure to arsenic at work
• Chronic skin inflammation or skin ulcers
• Diseases that make the skin sensitive to the sun
• Radiation therapy
• Personal history of one or more skin cancers
• Family history of skin cancer
• Bowen's disease: Bowen's disease is a type of scaly or thickened patch on the skin. It may turn into squamous cell skin cancer.
Prevention
The best way to prevent skin cancer is to protect yourself from the sun. Also, protect children from an early age. Doctors suggest that people of all ages limit their time in the sun and avoid other sources of UV radiation:
• It is best to stay out of the midday sun (from mid-morning to late afternoon) whenever you can. You also should protect yourself from UV radiation reflected by sand, water, snow, and ice. UV radiation can go through light clothing, windshields, windows, and clouds.
• Wear long sleeves and long pants of tightly woven fabrics, a hat with a wide brim, and sunglasses that absorb UV.
• Use sunscreen lotions. Sunscreen may help prevent skin cancer, especially broad-spectrum sunscreen (to filter UVB and UVA rays) with a sun protection factor (SPF) of at least 15. But you still need to avoid the sun and wear clothing to protect your skin.
• Stay away from sunlamps and tanning booths
Symptoms
Most skin cancers can be cured if found and treated early.
A change on the skin is the most common sign of skin cancer. This may be a new growth, a sore that doesn't heal, or a change in an old growth. Not all skin cancers look the same. Skin changes to watch for:
• Small, smooth, shiny, pale, or waxy lump
• Firm, red lump
• Sore or lump that bleeds or develops a crust or a scab
• Flat red spot that is rough, dry, or scaly and may become itchy or tender
• Red or brown patch that is rough and scaly
Sometimes skin cancer is painful, but usually it is not.
Checking your skin for new growths or other changes is a good idea. A guide for checking your skin is below. Keep in mind that changes are not a sure sign of skin cancer. Still, you should report any changes to your health care provider right away. You may need to see a dermatologist, a doctor who has special training in the diagnosis and treatment of skin problems.
These are the stages of skin cancer:
• Stage 0: The cancer involves only the top layer of skin. It is carcinoma in situ.
• Stage I: The growth is 2 centimeters wide (three-quarters of an inch) or smaller.
• Stage II: The growth is larger than 2 centimeters wide (three-quarters of an inch).
• Stage III: The cancer has spread below the skin to cartilage, muscle, bone, or to nearby lymph nodes. It has not spread to other places in the body.
• Stage IV: The cancer has spread to other places in the body.
Skin self-exam
The best time to do this exam is after a shower or bath. You should check your skin in a room with plenty of light. You should use a full-length mirror and a hand-held mirror. It's best to begin by learning where your birthmarks, moles, and other marks are and their usual look and feel.
Check for anything new:
• New mole (that looks different from your other moles)
• New red or darker color flaky patch that may be a little raised
• New flesh-colored firm bump
• Change in the size, shape, color, or feel of a mole
• Sore that does not heal
Check yourself from head to toe. Don't forget to check your back, scalp, genital area, and between your buttocks.
• Look at your face, neck, ears, and scalp. You may want to use a comb or a blow dryer to move your hair so that you can see better. You also may want to have a relative or friend check through your hair. It may be hard to check your scalp by yourself.
• Look at the front and back of your body in the mirror. Then, raise your arms and look at your left and right sides.
• Bend your elbows. Look carefully at your fingernails, palms, forearms (including the undersides), and upper arms.
• Examine the back, front, and sides of your legs. Also look around your genital area and between your buttocks.
• Sit and closely examine your feet, including your toenails, your soles, and the spaces between your toes.
By checking your skin regularly, you will learn what is normal for you. It may be helpful to record the dates of your skin exams and to write notes about the way your skin looks. If your doctor has taken photos of your skin, you can compare your skin to the photos to help check for changes. If you find anything unusual, see your doctor.
Rashes
A rash is an area of irritated or swollen skin. It might be red and itchy, bumpy, scaly, crusty or blistered. Rashes are a symptom of many different medical conditions. Things that can cause a rash include other diseases, irritating substances, allergies and your genetic makeup.
Contact dermatitis is a common cause of rashes. It causes redness, itching and burning where you have touched an irritant, such as a chemical, or something you are allergic to, like poison ivy.
Some rashes develop immediately. Others form over several days. If you scratch your rash, it might take longer to heal. The treatment for a rash usually depends on its cause. Options include moisturizers, lotions, baths, cortisone creams that relieve swelling, and antihistamines, which relieve itching.
Severe rashes
Hives
Also called: Urticaria
Hives are red and sometimes itchy bumps on your skin. An allergic reaction to a drug or food usually causes them. Allergic reactions cause your body to release chemicals that can make your skin swell up in hives. People who have other allergies are more likely to get hives than other people. Other causes include infections and stress.
Hives are very common. They usually go away on their own, but if you have a serious case, you might need medicine or a shot. In rare cases, allergic reactions can cause a dangerous swelling in your airways, making it hard to breathe - which is a medical emergency.
hives!
Eczema
Eczema is a form of inflammation of the upper layers of the skin.
The term "eczema" is broadly applied to a range of persistent skin conditions. These include dryness and recurring skin rashes characterized by one or more of these symptoms: redness, skin edema, itching and dryness, crusting, flaking, blistering, cracking, oozing, or bleeding. Areas of temporary skin discoloration are sometimes due to healed lesions, although scarring is rare.
Eczema!
Types of common eczemas
Atopic eczema (aka infantile e., flexural e., atopic dermatitis) is believed to have a hereditary component, and often runs in families whose members also have hay fever and asthma. Itchy rash is particularly noticeable on face and scalp, neck, inside of elbows, behind knees, and buttocks. Experts are urging doctors to be more vigilant in weeding out cases that are in actuality irritant contact dermatitis. It is very common in developed countries, and rising.
Contact dermatitis is of two types: allergic (resulting from a delayed reaction to some allergen, such as poison ivy or nickel), and irritant (resulting from direct reaction to a solvent, for example). Some substances act both as allergen and irritant (e.g. wet cement). Other substances cause a problem after sunlight exposure, bringing on phototoxic dermatitis. About three quarters of cases of contact eczema are of the irritant type, which is the most common occupational skin disease. Contact eczema is curable provided the offending substance can be avoided, and its traces removed from one’s environment.
Xerotic eczema (aka asteatotic e., e. craquele or craquelatum, winter itch, pruritus hiemalis) is dry skin that becomes so serious it turns into eczema. It worsens in dry winter weather, and limbs and trunk are most often affected. The itchy, tender skin resembles a dry, cracked, river bed. This disorder is very common among the older population. Ichthyosis is a related disorder.
Seborrhoeic dermatitis (aka cradle cap in infants, dandruff) causes dry or greasy scaling of the scalp and eyebrows. Scaly pimples and red patches sometimes appear in various adjacent places. In newborns it causes a thick, yellow crusty scalp rash called cradle cap which seems related to lack of biotin, and is often curable.
21:57