1. Skin Disorders

2. Aging As you age, your skin becomes thinner
Your skin loses some of its subcutaneous fat
This causes the skin to be less plump and less smooth

3. Causes of Skin Aging Main cause is sunlight Another causes is smoking
The wrinkling increases with the amount of cigarettes and number of years a person has smoked.

4. How To Prevent Aging Very few treatments have been FDA approved
Best ways to prevent aging:
Do not tan
Avoid the sun between 10 am and 4 pm
Wear protective clothing
Use sunscreen
Do not smoke

5. Werner’s syndrome Inherited premature aging disease
Results in the appearance of old age by 30 to 40 years old
Usually grow normally until puberty
Short stature, wrinkled skin, baldness, cataracts, muscular atrophy and a tendency to get diabetes
Cells have a shorter life span than normal
Affects 1 in 200,000 people in US

6. Athlete’s Foot Fungal infection called dermatophytes
Most people get it at some point in their lives
Spreads very easily in public places
Communal showers, locker rooms, fitness centers are breeding grounds for the fungus

7. Why Athlete’s Foot? Usually affects spaces in between toes
Can also spread to soles of feet, sides of feet, toenails

8. Symptoms of Athlete’s Foot
Itching, stinging, burning
Itchy blisters
Cracking and peeling skin
Excessive dryness of the skin
Nails that are thick, crumbly, ragged, discolored or pulling away from the nail bed
Not all carriers show symptoms

9. Causes of Athlete’s Foot
Dermatophytes are fungi that sprout tendrils and affect the epidermis
When the skin detects the fungi, it causes the basal cell layer to overproduce new skin cells
This causes the skin to become thick and scaly

10. Dermatophytes These fungal organisms thrive in damp environments
This can be caused by wearing tight shoes that pinch your toes together to create a warm and moist environment
Obviously, damp shoes or socks will make that environment even better for the fungi

11. Treatment Usually responds to over-the-counter medication
Athlete foot creams and sprays
More serious cases may require prescription medication
Treatments are usually anti-fungal medications

12. HIVES Hives are red, raised, itchy welts on the skin
Tend to occur in bunches
Usually harmless and don’t leave permanent marks
More serious cases will usually go away with antihistamine medication

13. Types of Hives Acute: lasts from less than a day up to six weeks
Chronic: lasts longer than six weeks, and can last for years!

14. Causes
Triggered when certain cells, called mast cells, release histamine in to the skin and bloodstream causing inflammation in the skin.
This sometimes is an allergic reaction to medications or food.
Common medication allergies: antibiotics, aspirin, ibuprofen,
Common food allergies: shellfish, fish, nuts, eggs, and milk
Other allergens: pollen, animal dander, latex, insect stings
Environmental factors: heat, cold, sunlight, stress, exercise may also cause hives.

15. Shingles Viral infection that causes a painful rash.
Actually caused by a herpes virus called varicella-zoster.
Pain can be excruciating, but it is not life-threatening.

16. Varicella-Zoster Virus
This is the same virus that causes chicken pox
After you’ve had chicken pox, the virus does not actually go away
It lies dormant in your nerves
This is actually a form of the herpes virus
After years, the virus can potentially be activated again as shingles.
The virus will reactivate and travel up the nerve pathway to the skin.

17. Signs and Symptoms
Pain, burning, tingling, or numbness in a certain part of the body
Red rash
Fluid-filled blisters that break open and then crust over
Fever, chills, nausea, abdominal pain, headache

18. How to Diagnose Shingles
Shingles almost always occurs on just one side of the body
Usually follows the path of the nerves where the inactive virus had been lying dormant
Virus will reactivate in patients with a weakened immune system, such as the elderly, people with AIDS, or people who have been very stressed.

19. Treatment
High doses of an antiviral drugs keep the virus from replicating itself
This reduces the duration and severity of symptoms
Anti-Inflammatory drugs are then used to reduce the inflammation
Finally, topical and oral pain relievers are given to the patient

20. Warts
Type of infection caused by a virus in the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) family
There are actually more than 100 types of HPV viruses
They can grow anywhere – seriously, even on the inside of your mouth

21. How You Can Get Warts
It is transferred from person to person through contact with the wart of an infected person
Genital warts can be passed very easily during sexual intercourse
Sometimes even condoms can’t protect you from getting genital warts

22. Types of Warts
Common Warts: usually grow on fingers, around nails, and on backs of hands
-These are often called "seed" warts because the blood vessels to the wart produce black dots that look like seeds
Plantar (foot) warts: grow on the bottom of the foot
-usually more painful and more flat because of the pressure from walking on them
Flat Warts: smaller and smoother than other warts
-usually grow in clusters of at a time

23. Removal of Warts
Salicylic Acid: over the counter medications like Compound W often contain this strong acid that you apply directly to the wart each day
It works best if the skin is damp
Every time you wipe off the acid, make sure you file the dead skin off the wart
Liquid Nitrogen: this is the “freezing off” of warts
Usually has to be applied by a doctor 2-4 times before the wart goes away completely
You can also get them burned, cut off, or removed by a laser, but these methods usually cause scars
There is NO CURE for genital warts

24. Ringworm Skin infection caused by a fungus
Can affect skin on the body, scalp, and groin
More common in kids

25. Causes of Ringworm
Despite the name, it is caused by a fungus, not a worm
Also caused by dermatophytes
Ways fungus spreads:
person to person with direct contact
contact with contaminated items
Combs, unwashed clothing, shower and pool surfaces
pets carrying the fungus
Especially cats!

26. Symptoms of Ringworm
Itchy, red, raised, scaly patches that may blister and ooze
Patches often have sharply-defined edges
Patches usually redder around the outside with normal skin tone in the center
Can cause bald spots in scalp
Glows under a black light

27. Treatment of Ringworm Keep skin clean and dry
Apply anti-fungal creams, powders, and sprays
Wash sheets and clothes every day that you have ringworm