The Dermatology Blog

The next time you feel lonely, remember this: you always have a few friends with you. No, not your Tweeple, your bacteria.

You have lots of them with you at all times; so many in fact, you’re like a walking planet. There are far more microbes living in and on you then there are people on earth! According to an article in The Economist, there are 100 trillion microbes living with you — 10 times the number of cells you actually have (so technically, you’re 90% bacteria, 10% human).

We are only now starting to comprehend the importance of this relationship with our lowly microbe friends. The disease model used to be simple: If you are infected with bacteria, you are sick. If you are bacteria free, then you are healthy. Not so anymore.

In fact, it is probably more true that losing a few billion of your bacterial friends leads to sickness, rather than to health. A better health model is that it’s not important to be free of bacteria to be healthy; rather it is important to have the right balance of microorganisms living with you to be disease free.

The first place we are likely to see the importance of healthy bacteria in skin disease is in eczema. Eczema, or atopic dermatitis, is a chronic itchy rash that often occurs in childhood and can last for years. It appears that one of the problems in patients with eczema is that they have an overgrowth of unwanted bacteria and a loss of other, good or healthy bacteria. Restoring this bacterial balance might ironically calm the immune system, improving eczema.

Look for new therapies in the upcoming new year such as creams and probiotic pills that don’t kill bacteria, but rather give you good bacteria. Future technologies will likely be able to detect imbalances of bacteria to diagnose disease and to foster health. It’s also another example of how Eastern medicine, with its principles of balance and natural remedies, might have gotten it right all along.

Photo: Tom@HK flickr.com

Flax oil or flaxseed oil is derived from the pretty, blue-flowering flax plant. The oil, obtained from processing the seeds, is high in omega 3 fatty acids, especially alpha linoleic acid (ALA). Omega 3 fatty acids are essential for normal skin and body function, but they are not produced naturally by your body. Read more…

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).

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.

Read more…