Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with health and skin

I don't want to look like W.C. Fields...

miss lynnster — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 00:10:42 -0800

Living with rosacea... tips please. I've been to the dermatologist. I've tried Metrogel and Doxycycline. They work ok but are expensive with my insurance so I am not on either right now. About once a month or so my right cheek and chin explode with outbreaks and I HATE it. Facials really do help, but I don't want to have to spend hundreds of dollars on facials every time I feel an outbreak coming on. I know that food intake is supposed to matter, but I haven't found that so much. I eat healthy and my alcohol intake isn't crazy.

Any tips on living with this and what to do when I feel an outbreak on the horizon? Is there anything that will help other than having an expensive facial or filling myself with expensive chemicals from the dermatologist? Right now my right cheek is almost purple with a volcano of healing-but-angry skin. I'm not a fan of looking like WC Fields on a bad day.

Oh, and no... I'm not more stressed than usual... actually I'm less so.

P.S. - Yes, I've read the other rosacea threads. Since a lot of them seemed to be answered by people who weren't going through rosacea themselves I figured it might not hurt to ask again and see if anyone had new comments.

Thanks in advance for the help folks!

Guitarist with hyperhydrosis and oily skin needs help

sid abotu — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 17:27:22 -0800

I am a borderline professional guitarist who suffers from hyperhydrosis (excessive sweating) and also seems to have developed a very oil-extruding physiology. Is there anything I can do to make it so that I don't have to wash my hands between each and every song? If not, what is the most efficient way to clean up and dry off my hands every five minutes or so? I am 39 years old and I have been playing guitar for 30 years. I play acoustic fingerstyle and I am pretty aggressive/hard in my approach to the instrument (but I don't dance around!). I don't eat an overly fatty or greasy diet and I am overall a pretty healthy person. I live in Ottawa, Canada, and despite what you might have heard this is an incredibly hot and humid location and my problem is particularly acute this time of year. I am open to suggestions of more moderate (and musical!) climates.

During the last decade my physiology has changed or some kind of perfectly awful storm of the extreme sweating I have always had (I think it is getting worse) and oily excretions has combined to make my favourite activity extremely frustrating and frankly it has made the prospect of returning to gigging scary. I wash my hands thoroughly using a standard bar of soap, rinse and dry, pick up my guitar and play a song and by the end of the tune my hands are wet and greasy. Hell, even just typing this question thus far (after having washed my hands for the 20th time today) I can feel the stickiness.

I am not OCD, this is a real impediment. Do any other musicians or folks who have dealt with this kind of situation have any guidance for me re. techniques to cope with this kind of problem? I know that there are dubious (nerve-severing!) surgeries for hyperhydrosis but I am not there yet: I am more interested in coping mechanisms that you might have discovered.

What to do about Inflammed Hair Follicles

Anthro girl — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 14:56:08 -0800

My thigh is covered with inflamed hair follicles. It's basically little red dots that look like razor burn. It doesn't hurt, itch, or anything, it just looks bad. Is there any way to reduce them?

HELP! Poison Ivy Out of Control

peace_love_hope — Sat, 24 May 2008 06:25:34 -0800

Poison Ivy -- Ok, I'm on round 2 of dosepack, steriod creams, and combining N1 and N2 allergy inhibitors -- I'm doing the best modern medicine has to offer, and based on the raised ugly red whelps it appears to no avail. I'm covered from head to toe and unfortunately points in between. Now -- how about some some Hivemind brilliance on other methods to get this more under control. I'm game for about anything at this stage. And yeah, I know I shouldn't -- but I did -- so please, help me! (Thanks...)

How can I treat contact dermatitis?

newfers — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 16:56:02 -0800

I get pretty severe contact dermatitis on my hands. Is there anything other than Triamcinolone cream which might help? I work in the produce department of a Kroger store, and for years I have had what doctors tell me is contact dermatitis on my hands from handling fresh produce. I wear latex gloves, but through seepage or ripping, my hands still get raw and sore, until I mercifully have a couple days off for the healing to begin. When my hands are at their worst, they are red and blotchy, with slight clear oozing. Yuck! I keep myself clean when I get home from work, and try to moisturize and get my hands as clean as possible, which usually keeps them from getting worse.

Soaking my hands in VERY hot water gives an almost orgasmic feeling, but is probably not a healthy thing to do (often). Is there anything other than Triamcinolone cream which might help? Over the counter Cortisone creams don't seem to do much good.

I will be making an appointment with my doc for some more of the cream, but in the meantime, I thought I'd ask the real experts (mefites!) for any suggestions.

How do I improve my dull, lifeless skin?

Anonymous — Fri, 28 Dec 2007 08:50:54 -0800

My skin is terrible. It's not just the acne, though I do have that. It is mottled and dull. I have deep shadows under my eyes. Wrinkles are spreading under my eyes and from the corners of my nose to my mouth. I don't (and never have) smoked, nor lived around smokers. I drink at least 2 liters of water a day. I'm a female in my early 20s, and I've got the skin of a nicotine and alcohol addict in their forties. What am I doing wrong? More treatment details inside. On top of what I already said, I do the following:
- I wash with Cetaphil and warm water, no washcloth or face scrubbing outside of a once or twice-weekly exfoiliation scrub.
- At night I apply either a 2.5% benzoyl peroxide treatment or a 2% salicylic acid treatment, though never both at once.
- In the mornings I use a retinoic acid moisturizer.
- At different times of the day (so they don't interfere with one another), I take biotin, a multivitamin, B-vitamins, a calcium-magnesium-zinc combination pill, an extra zinc vitamin, and fish oil.
- I exercise regularly.
- I am approximately ten pounds overweight, but otherwise in good health
- I sleep at least 7-8 hours per night 90% of the time
- I have taken various forms of birth control, but they didn't do anything for my skin and made me crazy.
- I have tried Differin and Retin-A, neither which did much (though that was years ago, maybe I should give it another shot?)

Possible Causes
- I have had a history of bad, blistered sunburns when I was younger--though only two or three times have they blistered on my face. Now I wear sunscreen.
- There was a six-month period two years ago when I drank way, way too much almost daily. This has long since ended.

In terms of treatment, I feel like I'm doing most everything right, but my skin just seems to get worse. I get tiny bumps all over my forehead and blemishes on my cheeks (it is not cystic acne). My skin is dull and lifeless-looking. It's awful. I could deal with the acne if I at least had a healthy glow, but I don't. What more can I do?

avogadro's number (except not)

Anonymous — Fri, 24 Aug 2007 22:20:48 -0800

I have a doctor's appointment to get a mole looked at. What can I expect? It is a raised mole on my face. It is smaller than a pencil eraser. I was told recently that it looks a bit bigger than it had in the past, also it has been itching periodically. I also have another mole, very similar in appearance but (to my best recollection) that has not had any weird symptoms; however, sometime within the last year (I may have had a sunburn) a top layer of one of the moles came off but I don't remember which one.

What is the doctor going to do? Just look at it or take a biopsy? (The mole is small enough and prominent enough on my face that taking a biopsy might be taking the entire mole and make me look slightly different.) Is my other mole going to be an issue? What are best best case and worst case scenarios?

How much should I be worrying?

Why do my thighs randomly break out with pimples?!

jimdanger — Wed, 15 Aug 2007 05:08:11 -0800

What are these pimples on my thigh? As you can see by the pics [1,2] my thigh is currently breaking out with some kind of pimples. This happens every so often, but I see no pattern. They're really red and some of them are tender. About the same time I get them on my upper thigh, I get one somewhere on my face, usually on the corner of my nose. They all last about a week and then go away. I have a history of bad skin, including redness around my nose and breaking out when my skin comes in contact with anything scented. I haven't changed my detergent, shampoo, soap, anything. I'm not allergic to any foods as far as I know, and I haven't been doing anything out of the ordinary. Anyone have any idea what might be causing this? It's not a major deal, just sucks when I'm wearing shorts and my legs look all blotchy.

How do I save my cat?

Anonymous — Wed, 08 Aug 2007 15:35:34 -0800

I'm afraid of taking my cat to the vet because of possible accusations of animal abuse. How do I diffuse this situation? My cat is around 12-13 years old. She's morbidly obese--24 pounds at last check--and prone to bouts of panic. Because of her age and weight, my family and I have avoided doing anything to scare her.

We haven't taken her to the vet in many, many years. To be honest, we probably haven't taken her to the vet since she was 3-4. She was a bit more svelte then, but much more prone to panic.

As she gained weight--probably due to overfeeding on our part--we grew concerned about scaring her too much. (Once, she clawed her way under a door three inches off the ground when she heard people entering the house three rooms away.) Because she was healthy beyond the weight, we decided not to traumatize her further by taking her the vet.

Because of her weight, she can't properly clean herself. (She's also too afraid for baths.) I brush her, but her fur still mats in places. Lately, probably due to excess shedding, her fur matted to the point where I couldn't brush it loose. I cut off the matted bits of her hair and tried to brush her and rid her of her dandruff. She looks awful--there's a huge bald spot on her back--but her fur is clean and she seems happier.

Then I noticed the lump. The lump must have been hidden deep in her fur. When I cut away some of the matted bit, I found a lump that had started to bleed. (I think it was bleeding because of overstimulation with a soft-bristle brush.) The lump isn't huge, but it's noticeable if you part the bit of fur that's left.

Now I'm terrified. I know my cat's old and obese and, well, in poor health. But I thought it was due to aging. She seems so content and happy. She lives in the kitchen and sees us every day. She's had fleas before--in fact, I'm trying to clean some fleas off of her now--that I had diagnosed by my retired vet aunt.

I'm terrified to take a morbidly obese cat that hasn't been doctored up in nearly a decade and that has matted belly fur, a huge bald spot, and a few fleas to the vet. I'm unbelievably worried about my cat--I love her to death--but I'm (understandably?) worried about being accused of animal abuse.

I have no idea what to do. After a bout of crying, I knew that I had to get some advice from AskMefi. I definitely want to take her to the vet. I guess my question is, how do I take my sickly cat to the vet without getting in (possibly) legal trouble? I intend to call my aunt for medical advice before proceeding. Beyond that, though, I'm at a loss.

I'm not the best pet owner. I admit it. I've made some stupid decisions. But I have nothing but love for my cat. I thought I was doing what was best for her. But...

:(

My throwaway account is: pleasehelpmycat at gmail dot com

Thank you. I'm a wreck right now, so I may have missed something.

Ivory skin and eyes of emerald green

Brittanie — Thu, 05 Jul 2007 03:14:35 -0800

Beautyfilter: How do I make my naturally pale skin look milky smooth? I'm a natural blonde and look good with a tan, but as I approach the end of my twenties I'm more and more concerned with sun exposure. I already wear high SPF sunscreen every day on my face, and have decided this summer to shun the sun in favor of a more natural look for the rest of my body.

However, my skin, which is very pale, always ends up looking more translucent and veiny than creamy and soft. Every little blemish and bruise shows up tenfold. I drink tons of water, exfoliate often and moisturize every day (I have dry skin) but I also have a bit of a yellow undertone, and I think sometimes I end up looking more sickly than healthy.

When I think of pretty pale blondes, I think of women like Scarlet Johansson and Cate Blanchett. What are the best (natural) ways to care for my skin to get that same soft white look?

Should I go see Dr. Zizmor, the most heavily advertised dermatologist in NYC?

tweebiscuit — Wed, 20 Jun 2007 11:18:57 -0800

I still have periodic acne breakouts at the age of 24, and now that I have health insurance I want to see a dermatologist. However, there's a million of them in NYC, and I don't have the time to shop around, so I'm considering going with NYC's most heavily advertised doctor, Dr. Zizmor. Is this a bad idea? Have you or anyone you know ever said, "Thanks, Dr. Zizmor?" (The last line, of course, is a reference to the Dr. Z ad spots that I grew up watching on Long Island during summer reruns of Perfect Strangers and Who's The Boss.)

The reason I'm cautious about picking someone out of the phone book is that, in high school, I had a dermatologist who prescribed me Accutane, an extremely powerful medication that wasn't justified in my case. (It worked, but the next doctor I had was shocked that she had given it to me.) All I want is professionalism and results.

I figure that if Zizmor has been around that long and has had so many patience, that he must be able to successfully treat a simple problem like mine. He was fined a few years ago for not performing adequate histories on some of his patients, but that might not be out of the ordinary for one of NYC's most visible doctors (in the same way that every trendy NYC restaurant has had a bad health report, etc.)

Is this a bad line of reasoning, or is Zizmor worth going to? Alternatively, if anyone can recommend a good dermatologist in NYC, I'd love to hear it.

Heal my acne cyst fast, please!

bonheur — Sun, 17 Dec 2006 22:16:26 -0800

I poked at a painful blemish on my forehead and now I have a big lump. What's the best way to fix this? I occasionally break-out, but I've never had cystic acne before. A few days ago a developed a small bump on my forehead. Of course, I idly poked and squeezed it, and now I have a rather large, dime-sized, warm, painful lump in the middle of my face. Delightful! Unlike standard-issue blemishes, there is no visible "head" to this beast, and when I did press on it, nothing came out. I won't squeeze it anymore, I've learned my lesson there. But how can I get this thing to heal as quickly as possible? Ice? Warm compresses? Acne creams? It hurts and I feel like Quasimodo. Please help!

Face gets splotchy red after being exposed to cold - suggestions?

MaverickX — Tue, 05 Dec 2006 13:50:23 -0800

[Cold Weather Filter]: Facial skin getting really splotchy red as New England is starting to get cold. Any suggestions or remedies? So I suppose I have what people would call sensitive skin. I never really notice it during the year, but when it gets cold, my face is really splotchy red after being in the cold for more than 20 minutes. It sort've looks like a (very) mild allergic reaction.

I'm currently using Oil of Olay "Senstive" Skin lotion on my face. I make a point to put on an AMPLE amount before going into the cold, but it doesn't really seem to help and my skin is still splotchy red after only 20 min in the cold.

The rest of my routine is using Cetaphil face wash in the morning and night, and then putting on lotion immediately.

Any suggestions?

Pickles and grapefruit

fijiwriter — Tue, 26 Sep 2006 14:04:57 -0800

Is there a link between deli-style pickles and grapefruits that both cause a baby's face to have a skin allergy? Do they share any traits or ingredients that would have that reaction? Are their juices too acidic/basic?

Fingers melting! Why? What'll stop it?

jonesor — Tue, 13 Jun 2006 02:56:10 -0800

The skin on my fingers is peeling off! Why? What'll stop it? The skin on the tips of my fingers if shedding in dry blister-like patches. What's causing it? What can I do to stop it or at least make it look less gross?

Grownup skincare regimen?

aebaxter — Fri, 16 Dec 2005 11:42:17 -0800

I'm ready to put away the Sea Breeze. Help me choose a grownup skin care regimen that works. I have tried many different skin care products, but I've never been able to find a regimen that I feel is effective enough (i.e. keeps my skin oil-free for a majority of the day, lessens the frequency of breakouts, just generally makes my skin feel "clean") to stick with for more than a few months. I would love recommendations for a full skin care regimen (cleanser, toner and moisturizer, at least) that works for oily, somewhat acne prone skin. Cost is not an object - I'm ready to commit. FWIW, I'm 24, female and running Windows XP.

Blushing

Anonymous — Sat, 18 Jun 2005 22:26:00 -0800

How can I stop blushing? I am a quite social and extroverted person with a relatively large social circle. I consider myself confident. However, whenever I experience any minimal amount of emotional stress, my face turns red. Usually: Really red, really fast. Especially in situations that would make me feel somewhat self-conscious. Anger, or being offended, also definitely does it.

It seems that in most social contexts, blushing is regarded as a sign of being embarrassed about something. With me, thats not the case. I hardly ever feel embarrased about anything, and if my face turns red, thats not why. Self-conscious? Likely. But not embarrassed. Meaning the only thing that really feels bad, is the fact that I know that I'm blushing.

Now, when I'm with people I know, this isn't that much of a problem, as they know that I'm like this, and they know it's nothing to worry about. But when I'm meeting new people, it is a problem. If I suddendly turn red in the face for apparently no reason, they will think they've made me uncomfortable or said something wrong (or that I'm a weird fool, for that matter), and the whole situation gets awkward.

For me, however, the only problem is the awkward situations the varying color in my face creates, the emotional stress that caused my sudden color change is usually so negligible I hardly even notice.

This whole thing is especially problematic situations like speaking to crowds, job interviews etc. where it seems unavoidable to feel a little conscious about ones self, and me turning red-faced seems predestined.

I'd really like to hear of ways of dealing with this.

I know of a surgical operation where they enter through your armpit and just cut of the nerve that makes you blush. It's supposed to be a quite low-risk and quick operation, and frankly it's something I likely would have already done if I had the money available.

I've heard of other people taking beta-blockers before upcoming potential blushfests, but I wouldn't want do be doing that without at least seeing my doctor about it first. Don't know about the side-effects etc., and unless I'd be able to take it everyday it wouldn't help me in my daily life.

Irritation from cosmetic products? A few years ago I was using some facial cleansing stuff, and that seemed to be making it worse. These day the only chemical stuff that touches my face is some shaving-foam "for sensitive skin", and that actually seems too soothe the skin. Switching to that shaving foam may actually have maybe me blush slightly less than before. FWIW, I'm using regular shampoo, even though my scalp is kind of red-ish.

I'm in my very late teens, and I've been like this probably since the very start of my teenage years. Blushing is said to be something most people grow out it, but I feel that if I was to grow out of this, it would have happened by now. I also know that this is a problem some well-established adults do deal with.

Finally, just to illustrate how extreme it can be sometimes: I don't even need to be around other people for my face to turn red. I can sit alone on a bus, and feel myself blushing, likely because of some minimal and unimportant thought crossing my mind. It really isn't cute anymore, just a pretty large annoyance. All help is largely appreciated.

Skin care tips

croutonsupafreak — Mon, 28 Mar 2005 11:13:08 -0800

Other than using sun screen, what should I be doing to keep my skin healthy as I age? What do all these anti-aging products actually do, anyhow? I'm 27, and so far I don't have much in the way of wrinkles. I've got dry skin most of the time because of the heavy-duty anti-acne creams I use, so I moisturize. I get the feeling that I'm not doing enough, but I don't know if I'm just buying into the media hype or what.

I'm innundated with ads for anti-aging products every time I turn on the TV. I've got a these products that I got as free samples when buying cosmetics, but I'm not sure if there's any actual point in using them. Do any of these products actually work? And what are they supposed to do? Does anti-aging eye cream moisturize? Dry? Or have some other effect altogether?

If some of these products work, which ones shoudl I be using?

Adult acne question

Anonymous — Fri, 22 Oct 2004 22:14:51 -0800

Adult acne & combination skin: have any MeFites won the battle over persistent & social-anxiety-creating skin problems? Want to share your secrets?