Skin Diseases and Its Causes

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Last Updated: March 5th, 2010
The skin is the largest organ of the human body and protects it from environmental changes. It regulates the body temperature via sweating and helps in sensing the temperature of the outside world. It also protects the body from bacterial and viral attacks. The diseases related to the skin are called cutaneous or dermatologic disorders. Some universal diseases show symptoms on the skin like measles and rubella, but these diseases are not categorized as dermatologic disorders.

Types of Skin diseases
There are various types of skin diseases such as skin cancer, psoriasis, eczema, acne, sunburn, impetigo, scabies, warts, erythema infectiosum, ulcers, tinea, herpes and pruritis. The skin becomes red, swollen and burnt due to irritation and inflammation. Due to some allergies, irritants, genetic makeup and problems in the immune system, the skin can suffer from dermatitis and hives. Skin disorders are caused by absorption of irritants and so, one should wear proper skin protective clothes, like gloves, aprons and overalls.

Skin disease-Vitiligo
Vitiligo or Leukoderma is a skin disease that occurs due to loss of pigment and results in irregular pale skin patches.

Signs and symptoms
Vitiligo can be caused due to stress that affects the immune system and eliminates the skin pigment. The skin patches may shrink, grow or remain the same in size. The white patches spread on various body parts such as the limbs, torso, face and groin. With time, the vitiligo affected skin patches re-pigment and other skin areas become affected. If the disease infects the scalp then the color of the hair becomes white. Sometimes golden brown patches appear around the eyes, nostrils and mouth.

Psychological effects
Vitiligo has an important effect on the psychology of the patient. Sometimes, people with vitilig can feel depressed due to the changes in their appearance. In some cultures, people having vitiligo, are thought to be evil and demon possessed.

Treatment
In mild cases of vitiligo, the skin can be hidden using makeup or camouflage solutions. Dermatologists also prescribe corticosteroid cream for skin patches. The exposure of skin to long-wave ultraviolet rays from the sun is also beneficial for the patient. The application of immunomodulator creams like Protopic and Elidel helps in repigmentation of the skin when used with ultra violet ray treatment. The chemical depigmentation of skin through Monobenzone results in complete or partially complete depigmentation.

Skin care
Proper skin care keeps the skin healthy and decreases the probability of any skin diseases. With age, the number of blood vessels in the skin decreases, the oil glands become less active and this makes the skin fragile and wrinkled.

Ultraviolet rays also causes damage to the skin and can cause wrinkles, rough skin, liver spots and even cancerous skin tumors. The complete sun protection for the skin can be attained by avoiding the sun during high-intensity peak hours, by wearing protective clothing and by using sunscreen when outside. Smoking results in a narrowing of the blood vessels that further results in a decrease of blood flow and a supply of both oxygen and nutrients to the skin. This damages the elasticity and strength of the skin and increases wrinkles. Daily skin care should be done by cleansing the skin twice or thrice daily and then applying moisturizer to maintain natural skin moisture levels. These simple skin care habits keep the skin healthy and also prevents any skin disorders.

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