Posted on August 16, 2011 under acne, Skin Care General | 
Here are 10 ways to prevent or treat acne:
- Desire habitual lifestyle changes, not just results
- Sleep on a brand new towel or cloth each night
- Wash face twice daily
- Avoid touching your face
- Rotate between benzoyl peroxide and salicylic acid over the counter
- Exercise, specifically cardio
- Seek professional treatment early
- Avoid fat and grease in food, makeup, and other hygiene products
- Exfoliate
- Use paper towels to dry your face Read more of this article »
Posted on April 6, 2009 under acne, Skin Care General, Summer Skin Care, sun damage, sun protection, Uncategorized |
Full of Fresh Starts, Skin Too Can Blossom as New Scar Treatment Proves Promising for Surgical and Other Stubborn Skin Scars
Today there are more options available to address the obtrusive appearance of some scars.
Scars can be one of the most unsettling problems following an already distressing trauma or surgery. The reparative result of a wound to the skin, a scar is a natural part of the healing process though can vary based on a person’s age and the location of the wound.
For years, Mederma (Merz Pharmaceuticals) has been the mainstay of over-the-counter treatment available in drugstores. Mederma’s ingredients include onion extract, an anti-infective, purified water, PEG-4, xanthum gum, methylparaben and sorbic acid. And recently allantoin has been added to stimulate healthy tissue growth. An even newer version of Mederma contains SPF 30. This added protection can prevent discoloration of scars subjected to the sun.
The newer formation containing allantoin was recently studied for effectiveness. Superficial and mid-dermal wounds (non surgical incisions) were created and allowed to heal for two weeks. Those wounds treated with Mederma gel had an improved appearance and were not as red as those left untreated. A 2006 study involving 24 patients with surgical wounds compared the onion extract gel of Mederma with Aquaphor (petrolatum-based product) and found no difference between the products.
Dermatix Ultra Advanced Scar Treatment is another new product available to treat scars. According to the company, Valeant Pharmaceuticals, the silicone gel has been shown to flatten, smoothen and soften scars. It is designed to decrease abnormal scarring and reduce the risk of hypertrophic (enlarged and thickened) scars. Dermatix Ultra can be purchased from a physician.
Other Scar Reducing Procedures
Scars can also be surgically revised, either to reduce the width or change the direction in order to decrease the appearance of the scar. Other less invasive procedure to reduce the appearance of some scars include Dermabrasion, which uses a sanding technique to remove the rough top layer of the skin. And fillers such as collagen and hyaluronic acid, which is used in also treating connective tissue disorders, can be injected.
Laser resurfacing and pulsed dye lasers can also be used depending upon the characteristics of the scars.
Today there are more options available to address the obtrusive appearance of some scars. Though, one should have realistic expectations. Gels and surgical interventions are still limited in the results they can achieve and may not eliminate the scar completely. A physician can advise on the use of multiple modalities to reduce the appearance and symptoms of scars more effectively.
Tags: Dermatix, Dermatix Ultra Advanced Scar Treatment, methylparaben, PEG-4, scar treatment, scars, skin care, sorbic acid, SPF 30, surgery, xanthum gum
Posted on January 5, 2009 under acne |
Emerging New Acne Treatment Hits U.S. Market in 2009
A new product is expected to emerge into the U.S. market, which is believed to offer the most hope yet to those suffering from stubborn acne.
Long time acne sufferers are among the first to try the latest acne treatments to hit the market – exhausting one by one without achieving their desired results. Well, by the beginning of 2009, a new product is expected to emerge into the U.S. market, which is believed to offer the most hope yet to those suffering from stubborn acne.
Aczone Gel 5% is a new topical dapsone gel that will clear the skin of inflammatory lesions such as the red tender bumps and cysts on the face.
Dapsone is an antimicrobial medication, which clears the bacteria responsible for acne. More importantly, it is an anti-inflammatory, which reduces the inflammation and swelling of the sebaceous glands seen in acne.
Oral dapsone has been used to treat skin diseases such as pemphigus vulgaris, leprosy, and dermatitis herpetiformis. But the use of dapsone is limiting, because of its life- threatening side effects on the blood system. Patients with a G6PD deficiency (detected with a blood test) have a high risk of developing methemoglobinemia, a serious condition of the blood. At this time, the use of topical dapsone twice a day for acne does not increase the risk for developing methemoglobinemia, even in patients with G6PD deficiency. Therefore, there are no systemic safety concerns with the topical use of dapsone (Aczone gel) for acne.
Dermatologists are excited to have this new treatment option on the market, particularly when the medication has the potential to be so effective. Studies have shown that by two to four weeks of use, there was a significant reduction in the inflammatory lesions (reduction of red bumps on the face). This improvement continued for six months. Topical dapsone was well tolerated, since there was very little irritation and worked best when used with topical adapalene Differin (Galderma Laboratories), another prescription cream.
The new year may now bring beautiful clear skin with this relatively safe medication.
Tags: acne, acne medication, acne treatment, Aczone gel, adapalene differin, adult acne, dapsone, dermatitis herpetiformis, Galderma Laboratories, leprosy, pemphigus vulgaris, skin problems, stubborn acne, topical dapsone gel
