Year: 2018

Acne Vulgaris – Symptoms, Causes and Treatment!

Posted by Dr. Sumit Gupta on August 18, 2018

Acne Vulgaris is a common inflammatory skin problem which is known by different names such as blackheads, whiteheads, pimples, or zits. It is a disorder of sebaceous glands or oil glands present in the skin. It is a usual problem at teenage but can happen at any age. Most young people face acne troubles, mild or major, and it usually gets better after teens. Women face acne issues before their menstrual periods.

A lot of debris along with the germs build up in the blocked follicles of the skin and becomes a comedy. The comedones are of two types i.e. a black head and a white head. If these comedones break and the sebum inside comes in direct contact with the air, its top portion turns black giving rise to the blackhead. Comedo with white top is known as a white head.

What are the common symptoms of Acne?

Symptoms of Acne Vulgaris are commonly seen as whiteheads, blackheads, and pimples. Redness around these skin eruptions and scarring of the skin also signals towards acne. Sometimes these eruptions are deep and unusually large in size, these are called cystic lesions. They become quite painful if caught by infection.

What causes acne?

Usually, acne is caused due to hormonal changes in the puberty years. These hormonal changes stimulate oil production in the skin and follicles get clogged. It affects the areas of skin with the densest population of sebaceous follicles; these areas include the face, the upper part of the chest, and the back. In males, it is caused as an abnormal response to normal levels of testosterone.

As the responses to hormonal changes start diminishing, acne tends to disappear or decrease. But one cannot predict how long it will take for the acne to disappear and some people may continue to suffer for years after puberty.

Though the major cause remains the skin pores getting clogged by dead skin cells and oil, there could be genetic causes to acne too.

Using some cosmetic products can worsen the problem. Also, congenital adrenal hyperplasia, polycystic ovary syndrome, and other endocrine disorders with excess androgens may trigger the development of acne vulgaris.

How is Acne Vulgaris treated?

Acne treatment depends on whether one is suffering from a mild, moderate or severe form. There are many treatments available for Acne vulgaris.

Treatment for Mild Acne Treatment

At early stages or when the problem seems mild, it can be treated with topical application of Benzoyl Peroxide based ointment or an azelaic acid-based composition.

Treatment for Inflammatory Acne

For inflammatory one, there are topical applications available such as retinoid, benzoyl peroxide, azelaic acid etc, but one must consult a skin specialist before choosing the right prescription for their condition. In some cases of inflammatory acne, antibiotics are also prescribed which are erythromycin, tetracycline, clindamycin, oxytetracycline or doxycycline. These are to be administered either topically or orally, as per the composition.

Treatment for Severe Acne

In case of severe acne, oral doses of antibiotics is a must to kill the infection from the body. These antibiotics are doxycycline, minocycline etc. Skin specialists often prescribe Oral Isotretinoin for severe acne.

Once the acne is treated, it becomes important to treat the residual scars too. These scars, sometimes, can be severe that cause disfigurement of body areas affected by acne and face. There are several treatments available for the residual scars which depend upon various factors like the depth and size of the scar, previous treatment is taken, their results and so on.

One may consider the following scar eliminating treatments:

Skin Polishing: Microdermabrasion or Dermabrasion, depending upon the skin type
Skin Peels –TCA, Jessner, Glycolic, Salicylic, Retinoid, green peel, Arginine peel, Blue peel, Combination peel etc.
Microneedling: Dermaroller
Fractional CO2 Laser
Skin Grafting

What to avoid if one is suffering from Acne Vulgaris?

There are many things which acne patients must avoid in their lifestyles while they suffer from acne vulgaris.

Medications that include steroids, lithium, some antiepileptics, and iodides.
Seafood that contains relatively high levels of iodine.
Chocolate, french fries, potato chips, and sugar.
A high GI (glycemic index) diet that causes sharp rises in blood sugar.
Exposure to severe sun or other extreme weather conditions.

All these often worsen acne.

Patterned Hair Loss Men and Women

Posted by Dr. Sumit Gupta on May 24, 2018

Hair loss men and women of various age groups face hair loss problems or alopecia and they keep looking for effective remedies. More often than not, hair loss also becomes a common ground for loss of self-confidence, depression, and loss of interest in life. Hair, undoubtedly are one of the prominent features of our appearance that defines our looks. Once we start losing them, we face distress. Unattractive looks cause emotional and psychological dilemmas too.

What are the common reasons for hair loss men and women problem?

The reasons behind hair loss for men and women could be varied. Prominent reason being age, there are other factors that affect the health of hair and these are:

Stress
Anxiety
Medicine Side-effects
Malnutrition
Heredity Problems
Drug Therapies for Health Issues
Deteriorating Health
Hormonal Changes
Extreme Sun Exposure
Scalp Diseases

Male Pattern Baldness

Scientifically known as Androgenic Alopecia, male pattern baldness is quite common these days. More than 50% of men suffer from it and it can start at quite an early age. There are various reasons to it, the primary being the hormonal play. As per most of the researches in the area, male pattern baldness is said to be caused by male sex hormones called androgens. These highly active hormones have many functions to perform in the body and hair growth regulation is one of them. Genetics is another reason to the disorder. If the person has a family history of pattern baldness, they are more likely to get affected by it. The process of pattern baldness is simple and can be understood as a weakening of hair growth cycle. When the growth cycle loses its strength, the hair follicles shrink and start producing shorter and finer hair strands, which eventually recedes to the point of producing no hair at all.

Male pattern baldness appears in different areas and in different shapes. Sometimes hair loss begins at the temples or the crown, with forehead seeming to go large every few weeks. Some also show symptoms of male pattern baldness with a receding hairline in M shape on the temple.

Female Pattern Baldness

Females also suffer from patterned baldness and it is also called Androgenetic Alopecia. Quite similar to male pattern baldness, it is primarily caused by hormonal imbalance in menopause period. It can also be hereditary. Women lose hair in varied parts of the head, unlike men, who have 2-3 general patterns. It is a common disorder which is often a result of ageing. Almost 60 to 75 percent of women suffer from female pattern baldness. If it starts in early age, there are remedies to slow the process. A usual loss of 50 to 100 hair strands is experienced every day and the conditions worsen. Seeing a dermatologist is always helpful as an expert can differentiate between pattern baldness and other kinds of hair loss due to diet inefficiencies. The sooner the treatment starts, the faster the loss can be reversed.

Women are unlikely to lose all hair and go bald, but thinning of hair all over the head can also be a usual symptom of female pattern baldness.

The Remedies

While markets are flooded with hair fall remedies in various forms, medical science offers hair fall remedies that work wonders and make sure you receive the best results from any of the therapies you resort to. Different therapies work differently while increasing the blood flow in the scalp or inhibiting the enzyme action which causes hair fall or promoting the growth of dormant hair follicles. Apart from these, there is Platelet Rich Plasma Injections which help in hair growth by releasing growth factors near hair follicles.

Know more about the major therapies that we use to treat acute hair fall problems, click here.

Medical Facial Vs Salon Facial: The Reasons You Need The Former!

Posted by Dr. Sumit Gupta on May 24, 2018

If you are looking for medical facial, you are at the right place.

Many of us haven’t yet known the astounding benefits of medical facial and still resort to a basic salon facial to renew our facial skin. While a salon facial does bring good results, medical facial breaks all the barriers and makes the skin look younger and totally replenished. That is the reason it is catching up.

Wondering why should you go for a medical facial? Here are the comparative benefits of medical facial over salon facial.

Medical Facial Works Inside Out

While a salon facial adds products to the outer surface of the skin; a medical facial penetrates deep down and works on the deeper layers of skin, helping to renew the cells so that new and younger layers of skin are born to bring an overall rejuvenated, smooth and youthful face.

Medical Facial Treats Skin Defects

A salon facial can at the most give you a glow and take away the tiredness off your face. Whereas, a medical facial treats the residing skin defects such as pigmentation, acne, aging skin, rosacea, melasma and many more. Customized medical facials are devised as per the unique skin types and the treatment that a particular skin needs.

Medical Facial Works on Cellular Layers

It is not just the massage with creams and facemask as what happens during the salon facial, a medical facial works on the skin cells, as they shed themselves and start to regenerate every 4 to 6 weeks. Exfoliation, microdermabrasion, chemical peeling, hydro-dermabrasion, micro-current, Jet Nutrient Infusion, LED light therapy, photo rejuvenation (IPL) are the steps involved in medical facial that help to remove the dead cells, deep cleanse the inner layers of the skin and extract the skin’s ability to produce more and more fresh cells. You begin to notice improvements in skin tone, texture and appearance instantly, and the results keep improving over the natural course of time. Medical Facial, as the name suggests is a scientifically devised way to rejuvenate your skin and prevent skin surface ageing.

The medical facial is your first step towards the healthy, glowing, fresh and youthful skin. Make an appointment now and keep repeating every 4 to 6 weeks to see the astonishing results.

Laser Hair Removal To Show Off Your Silky Smooth Skin This Summer

Posted by Dr. Sumit Gupta on May 24, 2018

If you are looking for laser hair removal, you are in the right place.

It’s time to give-up on shaving tweezing and waxing for hair removal! Use these time-consuming methods and you will have to keep on repeating them every few days! Need a permanent solution for hair removal to show off your silky smooth skin this summer? Go for laser hair removal!

One of the most in-demand and successful hair removal treatments that is offering permanent solutions to women with hair problems; laser super-hair-removal (SHR) treatment is actually magical. It is based on passing highly concentrated laser light through hair follicles to let the pigment absorb the light and render the hair follicles inactive. You can go for laser hair removal to remove unwanted hair from face, legs, arms, underarms, bikini area, and other parts of the body where you want to have silky smooth skin.

Before you choose to go for it, you definitely need to count the brilliant benefits of laser hair removal. Here they are:

The laser can selectively target the hair follicles while leaving the surrounding skin absolutely undamaged, which is not the case with waxing and tweezing etc. You end up braising the skin involved.

A single beam of laser acts ultra-fast and can target many hair follicles at once, making it quicker and easier to lose a big patch of hair. Small areas such as upper-lip take less than a minute to be treated and get rid of hair permanently.

You may need multiple sessions,4 to 6 weeks apart, on a particular area to treat all the follicles completely. This is to target hairs in different phases of the hair growth cycle. Laser Hair Reduction targets hair follicles in the growing phase more. So, in order to target hair follicles which are currently in the resting or shedding phase, subsequent sessions are needed.

The skin after laser hair removal feels smooth as silk, as no chemicals and lotions are involved.

Summer is already here and you just cannot miss the chance to flaunt your heavenly skin. Just book a session for laser hair removal and let the magic envelop you.

10 Things You Must Do This Summer To Take Care of Your Skin- Best dermatologist

Posted by Dr. Sumit Gupta on May 24, 2018

We all seem to know at least one woman with the skin to die for and we keep wondering about her secrets to that dazzling face! Are you also dying to know the exact secrets behind that healthy, glowing, vibrant skin tone?

Well, here are the 10 tips from the best dermatologist that can help you replenish your skin this summer and keep it shinning like a light bulb.

YOU MUST remove your makeup before you go to bed and that too with the right cleanser perfect for your skin type, be it oily, dry, or medium. Cleaning and nurturing the pores with right cleanser is the best way to keep the clogged dirt and infections away from skin.

Drink plenty of clear liquids such as water, coconut water, lime water etc. to keep your skin hydrated through the day. Water is specifically an elixir to skin. 8-10 glasses a day are going to change your skin for better. Try it to witness its boons.

Maintain a healthy diet to eliminate the natural barriers of the skin and to help it retain essential moisture. Omega-3 fatty acids and protein intake is a sure shot way to a healthy, glowing skin. Flaxseeds, walnuts, eggs, greens and pulses are rich sources of all. Best dermatologist can vouch by these skin diets.

Moisturize your skin often and two important times to do that are; right after the shower and right before you go to bed. Choose the best moisturizer for your skin type. Oil based or water based. Make sure you avoid the moisturizers with heavy scents and it should feel light on your skin. Sticky and greasy moisturizers are not a good bet for summers.

Keep your fingers away from your face throughout the day. It isn’t a good practice to touch your face every now and then. You are not helping anything else but just transferring hand bacteria to your facial skin and worsening the situation for you.

Do not use too many cosmetic products. Stick to one or two good products of good brands to cleanse, moisturize and pamper your skin. A plethora of different skin products leads to clogged pores and painful breakouts. This is an important tip from the expert and best dermatologist.

Wear a sunscreen every day whenever you step out. Make it an imperative in summers if you want that flawless skin. Do that while driving, while traveling in a flight, inside your office and while drinking a coffee. You are definitely keeping the visible signs of aging away.

Avoid direct sun exposure in every possible way. Wear a hat, a scarf, sun shades or carry an umbrella, but you must keep the sun rays blocked if you wish that bright and supple skin in summers. Sun rays cause inflammation and burn the upper layer of skin too bad.

Exfoliate at least once a week. You need to have a good exfoliating scrub as per your skin type to remove the dead cells and rejuvenate the skin. Averagely, we lose about 50million skin cells a day, which should not be staying on the face for long, as they make skin look sullen and puffy. Best dermatologist recommends exfoliation every week. If your skin is sensitive or if you are suffering from eczema, avoid excessively.

Sleep enough. A minimum of 7-8 hours of sleep, especially during the night would give your skin the rest and time to replenish itself. Not enough sleep results in tiredness on the face, puffiness, pigmentation and breakouts every now and then.

Do these and see yourself smiling throughout the summers, with the skin that you always dreamed of. Says qualified and best dermatologist.