Monthly Archives: January 2008

Eczema Associated with Certain Blood Pressure Medications

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Do you have a chronic, itchy rash?

For most patients in winter, eczema is the result of dry, cold air — a condition called asteatotic eczema. It is common and can occur in people from Boston to San Diego.

For some elderly patients, however, chronic eczema can be caused by a blood pressure medication. A new study from the Journal of Investigative Dermatology found that patients on calcium channel blockers (CCBs) were more likely to have eczema than those who were not taking these blood pressure pills. They also found that the skin rash resolved in 68% of patients who stopped their CCB.

Blood pressure pills should never be changed without consulting your physician. If you have a skin rash and are on a CCB, then discuss this with your physician.

Calcium channel blocker (CCB) medications include nifedipine (Adalat, Procardia), nicardipine (Cardene), bepridil (Vascor), isradipine (Dynacirc), nimodipine (Nimotop), felodipine (Plendil), amlodipine (Norvasc), diltiazem (Cardizem), and verapamil (Calan, Isoptin).

Clothes to Soothe Itchy Skin

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Just the mention of a wool sweater makes me itchy. For many people with chronic itchy skin conditions such as eczema, irritating fabrics like wool and polyester can trigger itching over their whole body. Now some (entrepreneurial) dermatologists have developed clothes designed to protect the skin.

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Look Beautiful, Save Money

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Save your money. Dermatologists agree, spending more money on a cream does not mean you will have better effects.

Despite the promises of many anti-aging products, don’t expect major changes from an over-the-counter cream—regardless of how much you spend on it.

I’m afraid it’s true. Companies such as Oil of Olay and Neutrogena have excellent over the counter products that work just as well as expensive, I’m-a-Beverly-Hills-Dermatologist designer creams. Sometimes the expensive brand is worth the money. Usually, it’s not. Here are five pointers to help you save your hard earned money:

  1. I have never seen an over the counter cream that actually eliminates wrinkles. Nope. Not a one.
  2. Any over the counter face cream, whether you pay $8 or $400, will hydrate your skin, improving the texture of your skin and making your wrinkles less noticeable.
  3. I have never seen a cream eliminate stretch marks. I am sorry — it’s the truth. Stretch marks are tears of the elastic fibers in the deep layers of the skin; creams simply cannot repair that. The good news is that all stretch marks improve with time — they become less pink and less noticeable. This is why people think that the product they used helped and why people swear by a whole range of products from cocoa butter to expensive department store creams.
  4. Try for yourself. Apply Eucerin Body Creme to the stretch marks on the right side of your body. Apply your expensive stretch-mark-eraser-cream of choice to the stretch marks on the left side of your body. Do this for a month. Ask yourself (honestly) and three other people if they can see a difference. They won’t be able to.
  5. There are hundreds of excellent products for your skin. If you have a question, then write to me at Dr (dot) Benabio (at) TheDermBlog (dot) com. Over time, I’ll tell you about the best possible products (and money savers) for your skin.

Natural Soy Moisturizer Improves Skin Tone and Texture

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aveeno2.gifSoybeans contain a whole host of molecules that act on the skin; the key ones are isoflavones (or phytoestrogens) which are potent antioxidants. They also contain protease inhibitors, which are much less known than the antioxidants but no less potent.

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