What is solar purpura?

Solar purpura is a condition where long term sun damage to the skin causes easy bleeding into the skin tissue with even slight injury. This appears as spots or patches of bruising that is red to purple in color. It is a harmless condition and is not related to skin cancer which is also associated with prolonged sun exposure. The elderly are more often affected as age-related changes coupled with prolonged sun damage weakens the blood vessels in the skin. Solar purpura is also known as actinic purpura or senile purpura due to its prevalence in seniors. It is the deeper layer of the skin, known as the dermis, which is affected. Solar purpura is often missed as a diagnosis as it takes only minimal sun exposure to cause the condition as a result of years or decades of blood vessel weakening.

continue reading Solar Purpura (Purple-Blue Patches in Sun Damaged Skin)

What is a breast fungus?

A breast fungus is a skin infection over or under the breast. This infection may be isolated to the breast, spread elsewhere on the trunk and surrounding regions or even occur in isolated spots on various sites. A breast fungus is one of the more common types of fungal infections that mainly arises in women, especially women with larger busts. However, it is often under-reported due to embarrassment about the condition or diagnosed along with a fungal infection elsewhere and there is usually no specific focus on the breast area. Fungal infections of the breast are superficial infection meaning that it only involves the outermost layers of the skin.

continue reading Breast Fungus

Sweat or perspiration is the body’s way to cool itself. We tend to sweat more when we are hot and less when are feeling cold. Most people see sweating as an uncomfortable and undesirable process but it is actually a life saving mechanism. Sweating excessively is one of the more commonly known abnormalities with perspiration. It is often a cause of great distress. On the other hand, sweating too little or even not at all especially in hot environments can be dangerous and even fatal.

What is anhidrosis?

Anhidrosis is the medical term for no sweating. This means that a person is unable to perspire as would be normally expected. A similar term is hypohidrosis. This means that the sweating is at very low levels as would be the norm for the situation. Disturbance in sweating in this way allows the body temperature to rise and eventually lead to heat-related illnesses. In hot environments, this can be fatal within hours or days. Anhidrosis is usually a consequence of some underlying problem or disease which needs to first be treated for sweating to be restored. Patients with certain causes of anhidrosis may never be able to sweat as normal and have to adapt their lifestyle to avoiding heat and keeping cool through artificial methods.

continue reading Anhidrosis and Hypohidrosis (No Sweating and Low Perspiration)

We all experience itching now and then. Sometimes it is due to skin irritation while at other times it occurs for no known reason. Intense and persistent itching, especially where there is a rash, is usually a skin disease. However, sometimes ongoing itching has no physical cause. It can be related to nervousness or anxiety but is just temporary. If the itching is ongoing and skin is scratched constantly over a long period of time, it can eventually lead to changes in the thickness and texture of the skin.

continue reading Neurodermatitis (Lichen Simplex Chronicus) Chronic Scratch Rash

What is urticaria?

Urticaria, commonly known as hives, is a condition where there is red, itchy swellings on the skin (wheals or welts) that appears and disappears often for no known reason. It can appear with large swelling just under the skin which is known as angioedema. Sometimes the swelling is of the airways and can lead to difficulty breathing, suffocation and even death. Urticaria may be acute or chronic depending on the duration of time that it exists. Sometimes it can come and go repeatedly in which case it is said to be episodic urticaria. The condition may affect 1 out of 6 people at least once in their lifetime but in most cases it is acute and never occurs again.

continue reading Urticaria (Hives, Itchy Red Skin Welts) and Angioedema (Swelling)