What is Skin allergy?

Various Skin Allergy Acne

Acne is eruption appearing usually on the face, forehead, cheeks, chin and back, due to the clogging up of pores of sebaceous glands with sebum, oil and dead skin cells. These can occur both in females and males. Hormones play a vital role in the excessive secretion of oil and sebum.the Premenstrual flare of acne is due to increased levels of progesterone, which secretes more sebum (oil), and this sebum feeds bacteria, which causes increased breakouts and inflammation on the skin. Acne can lead to significant mental stress and affect confidence levels in teenagers. Severe acne can leave disfiguring scar marks on the face forever.

Classification

• Mild - Open (blackheads), Closed (whiteheads) comedones

• Moderate - Papules and Pustules

• Severe - Nodules

Acne can be classified according to the severity

• Red eruptions on the forehead, cheeks, chin, back and chest with or without itching and pain.

• Pus and fluid-filled papules

• Whiteheads, blackheads and nodules on the facial region

• Crusting of skin bumps

• Scarring of the skin

• Utter mental distress, anxiety, lack of confidence

• Scars and blemishes after healing

MOLLUSCUM

Molluscum is a skin infection caused by a Molluscum contagiosum virus and is a relatively common viral infection of the skin that results in round, firm, painless bumps ranging in size from a pinhead to a pencil eraser. If the bumps are scratched or injured, the infection can spread to the surrounding skin.

Signs and Symptoms

• Lesions are flesh-coloured, dome-shaped, and pearly in appearance.

• Present anywhere except on the palms of your hands or the soles of your feet

• Present on the face, abdomen, torso, arms, and legs

Transmission

Molluscum contagiosum is extremely contagious. Transmission of the molluscum contagiosum virus can occur in many different ways including direct skin contact, contact with an infected surface, or by scratching or picking molluscum lesions and then touching other parts of the skin not previously affected by the virus.

WARTS

Various types of warts such as common, mosaic, planter, flat, filiform, periungual and genital warts appear on  different parts of the body and have a distinct appearances.

Signs and Symptoms

• Common Warts are a rough and have grainy appearances with rounded top

• Plantar Warts are hard and grainy and usually grow on the sole. They appear on the pressure points and are usually painful

• Flat Warts are flat top that may be pink, brown or slightly yellow

ALOPECIA

Alopecia is a general term for hair loss. Alopecia is a specific, common cause of hair loss that can occur at any age. It usually causes small, coin-sized, round patches of baldness on the scalp, although hair elsewhere such as the beard, eyebrows, eyelashes, body and limbs can also be affected. It can be caused by hereditary, ageing, hormonal imbalance, medications or lifestyle.

Alopecia areata is an autoimmune disease in which the immune system, which is designed to protect the body from foreign invaders such as viruses and bacteria, mistakenly attacks the hair follicles considering them to be foreign resulting in hair fall.

An estimated 1 in 4 women will suffer hair loss at some point in their lives and over 50% of men will see significant hair changes by the time they reach middle age which can affect confidence and cause unwanted stress.

Types

• Scarring alopecia, where there is fibrosis, inflammation, and loss of hair follicles

• Non-scarring alopecia, where the hair shafts are gone but the hair follicles are preserved, makes this type of alopecia reversible.

Alopecia areata is a condition where hair falls out in small round patches. When the hair fall is extensive involving the whole scalp it is called Alopecia totalis. If the disease is more sever and there is a complete loss of hair on the head, face, and body it is called Alopecia Universalis.

Signs and Symptoms

• Starts as one or more bald, smooth patches on the scalp.

• In Alopecia Universalis, loss of eyelashes and eyebrows and hair in the nose and ears can make the person more vulnerable to dust, germs, and foreign particles entering the eyes, nose, and ears.

PSORIASIS

Psoriasis is a chronic autoimmune condition that causes the rapid build-up of skin cells. The normal human body sheds out skin cells almost every 27 days. However, in patients with psoriasis, the immune system is faulty and sends faulty signals to skin cells to grow too rapidly. In these cases, the skin cells form in days rather than weeks. The skin cells pile up on the surface of the skin causing excessive flaking. Typical psoriatic scales are whitish-silver and develop in thick, red patches. Sometimes, these patches will crack and bleed. The extra skin cells form thick, silvery scales and itchy, dry, red patches that are sometimes painful. You usually get the patches on your elbows, knees, scalp, back, face, palms and feet.

Types of psoriasis

• Plaque (also called psoriasis vulgaris) is the most common type of psoriasis. It is characterized by thick red patches of skin, often with a silver or white scaly layer. These patches often appear on the elbows, knees, lower back and scalp

• Guttate psoriasis appears in small red spots on the skin.

• Inverse (also called flexural psoriasis or intertriginous psoriasis) appears in skinfolds, such as under the breasts or in the armpits or groin area. This type of psoriasis is red, and often shiny and smooth.

• A pustular psoriasis is a severe form of psoriasis. It develops fast in the form of many white pustules surrounded by red skin.

• Erythrodermic (also called exfoliative psoriasis) is widespread, red, and scaly. It may cover large portions of the body. Exfoliation often occurs in larger pieces than the small scales typical to most psoriasis.

Signs and Symptoms

• Red patches of skin covered with silvery scales

• Small scaling spots

• Dry, cracked skin

• Itching, burning, or soreness

• Itchy plaques

• Small bleeding points when the scale is peeled away