Skincare Awareness Week 2016 Hammers Home the Importance of Looking after Skin

Let’s be honest, there isn’t a man or woman alive who, given the chance to have healthy-looking skin and free of wrinkles, would turn that chance down.

People enter the world with healthy, radiant, skin, but environmental and lifestyle factors through the course of day-to-day lives, means some people’s skin can age at a much quicker speed than others.

Everybody is susceptible to harmful ultraviolet (UV) damage, which isn’t always visible to the naked eye. There are those that may have already caused some degree of damage or premature ageing to skin and be totally unaware. The most serious and potentially deadly type of such damage is skin cancer. This is the most common form of cancer in the UK, with rates continuing to rise. There are around 100,000 new cases diagnosed each year, and the disease kills more than 2,500 people in the UK every year – equivalent to seven people each day.

Therefore, with Skincare Awareness Week about to start on the 16th May, perhaps it is time the nation began to think about how well they look after their own skin, particularly with summer beginning in June. This is the ideal time for everyone to consider skin health, and in particularly, protecting the skin from damage – mainly emanating from the UV rays emitted by sun and tanning beds, prematurely ageing or increasing the risk of skin cancer from excessive exposure.

With all this in mind, DestinationSkin launched the first ever #skincareaware Skincare Awareness Week on 11 May last year, which aimed to boost awareness of how important it is – for both sexes – to properly take care of the skin.

According to DestinationSkin, their new study of the UK public found that 74% of people claimed to be #Skincareaware, however only 39% claim they wear a sun protection factor (SPF) product and less than 20% wear an SPF daily. Those worried about potential damage already caused can choose to have free skin scanning throughout the campaign from DestinationSkin. A skin scan is a quick and easy way to take a deeper look at the health of your skin under a UV lamp to identify areas of sun damage (pigmentation), dehydration and oiliness.

As a fully-registered online pharmacy with a massive range of skincare products such as acne treatments, anti-ageing treatments, and T/Gel shampoo for scalp psoriasis, Medical Specialists® Pharmacy fully support Skincare Awareness Week. The pharmacy have thousands of patients and this includes many women seeking the contraceptive pill Dianette for acne and other androgen related skin disorders.

Psoriasis doesn’t always make the headlines compared to other health problems, but around 3% of the population suffer with it (up to 1.8 million people). The condition occurs when the immune system generates skin cells too rapidly, causing ‘plaques’ on the skin – a build-up of scaly pink-coloured patches that can appear anywhere on the body, but are more frequently seen on the elbows, knees and hands.

Eczema is another chronic skin disease that is often confused for psoriasis and their lesions may be similar if they are chronic, but these can also seem to be moist and oozing liquid – if the affected skin is infected.

Psoriasis treatment is one of many areas which Medical Specialists® are exploring, with a view to expanding the product base to cover this. This comes after huge demand in requests for medication to ease the symptoms associated with the condition.

Psoriasis and eczema are often thought to run in families, though the causes of them have not been completely determined. Though with the awareness campaign starting in just days, it will help increase awareness of possible ways to avoid the non-familial skin problems.

Worryingly, many people are still under the impression that skin is only afflicted with damage on sunny days. In reality however, although ultraviolet B (UVB) rays – most intense during the summer months particularly – are the primary cause of sunburn, ultraviolet A (UVA) rays are present all year long.

UVA rays make up around 95% of the UV radiation that connects with the Earth’s surface. Moreover, UVA rays can travel through glass, so both it is important to protect the skin whilst indoors and outside.

A broad-spectrum sunscreen with an SPF of at least 15 should be used in conjunction with one or more of the following UVA-protective ingredients: avobenzone, ecamsule, oxybenzone, titanium dioxide, and zinc oxide. Moreover, people can reduce the chance of getting skin damage by applying window film to the windows at home, work and even in the car, blocking nearly 100% of UVA and UVB radiation.

Medical Specialists® realise not everybody will actually use sun cream and putting window film on every surrounding window during the day is not always feasible. Thus, a fair number of the population will get sunburnt in the next few months, especially if the temperatures are going past 20°C. Many that do get sunburnt could benefit from the over-the-counter product Oilatum Gel, which will help to soothe the painful symptoms.

Oilatum Gel is used to treat Eczema in addition to other dry skin conditions. The gel stops excessive loss of moisture and boosts skin hydration, reducing roughness, scaling and relieves itching and discomfort. In addition, it is also claimed that inexpensive over-the-counter antihistamine tablets can be taken to help alleviate itching associated with sunburn.

Being in the sun for too long and abusing sunbeds will inevitably badly damage the skin and cause premature aging, skin wrinkles and increased pigmentation – although other factors can be linked to wrinkles such as genetics, facial muscle contractions, environmental exposure to heat, wind and dust, and smoking.

Medical Specialists® are fully committed to providing the most effective and clinically proven treatments for skincare, such as acne, anti-ageing and wrinkles. Patients can obtain prescription-only medication to treat these conditions after completing an online consultation, reviewed by one of Medical Specialists®’ GMC registered doctors, or by posting a private prescription to Medical Specialists®, written by the patient’s own GP.

Asthma, rhinitis and eczema symptoms all ignited by deodorant sprays

The lingering strong smell of frequent deodorant use amongst teenagers is so common that it has led to teachers taking to online forums to share their complaints about having to teach through the waft of Lynx on a daily basis.

Largely down to their clever marketing campaigns, such as the slogan “Get the look that gets the girl” and many adverts depicting how their sprays can have a major impact with the opposite sex,  Lynx has become the market leader and has a staggering eight million users in just the UK alone.

In fact it is believed that around half of children are using deodorant by the age of 11, with the fear of body odour making them spray themselves far too excessively.

However, this excessive use has led to worry from health experts that over-using deodorant can result in increased inhalation of dangerous aerosol chemicals. This can then cause health problems such as asthma, allergic skin reactions and breathing difficulties.

Maureen Jenkins, director of clinical services at Allergy UK, commented: “Around one in three adults in the UK have some form of allergic disease — asthma, rhinitis or eczema — and their symptoms are easily aggravated by perfumed products and exacerbated by aerosol chemicals. Even people without allergies can be sensitive to chemicals found in cleaning products or toiletries, experiencing skin reactions, breathing difficulties, nausea or headaches. The reactions are made worse when it is an aerosol as the fine mist is easily inhaled.”

Although rare, inhaling aerosols may over time trigger heart problems which could prove fatal.
The Capewell family from Manchester tragically found this out in 1998 when 16-year-old Jonathan Capewell died of a heart attack in the bedroom of his home in Oldham, Greater Manchester. Jonathan’s 17-year-old sister, Natalie, discovered her brother lay motionless on the floor of his bedroom and raised the alarm.

His father, Keith, 58, recollects: “When we arrived at the hospital, they were still trying to revive him. But about ten minutes later they said he was gone. We were shocked. There had been no warning. They asked if he had a heart condition but there was nothing like that. He was a perfectly normal, healthy boy.”

At the time, Keith spoke about the fact his son would cover his entire body with deodorant at least twice a day and a post-mortem revealed Jonathan had ten times the lethal dosage of butane and propane within his blood. Both are used as aerosol propellants and had built up following several months of high deodorant use.

Jonathan Clague, a consultant heart specialist at the Royal Brompton Hospital, described how aerosol chemicals can cause death: “The main cause of death is usually suffocation, known as hypoxia. If oxygen is not being breathed in and something else is inhaled, such as chemicals, then suffocation occurs and the heart stops.”

The Capewells have been calling for more action to be taken to increase awareness of dangers associated with aerosol deodorants.

Keith says: “Our youngest son Nathan was four when Jonathan died and as soon as he was old enough to use deodorant we drummed into him that he had to open the windows and only use short bursts. He’s 20 now and he does that to this day. I’d like to see warnings on the front of the can, like there are for cigarettes and alcohol. Because we know first-hand that deodorants can be just as fatal.”

Autoimmune diseases linked to a diet high in salt

Scientists claim that the typical modern day diet that is high in salt could be a key factor behind recent increases in the cases of autoimmune diseases such as multiple sclerosis, lupus, alopecia, asthma and eczema.

An autoimmune disease occurs after the immune system attacks healthy body cells instead of fighting off disease and infection as it should be doing. An autoimmune disease can drastically vary in the severity of symptoms – sometimes flaring up and other times they can go into remission and disappear for some time.

Initial symptoms are usually fatigue, muscle aches and a low fever. A usual indicator of an autoimmune disease is inflammation, resulting in redness, heat, pain and swelling. The treatment for an autoimmune disease will depend on the specific disease but usually the main aim is to reduce inflammation.

A common autoimmune disease is the neurological condition multiple sclerosis, which affects around 100,000 people around the UK. It develops after a protein surrounding the brain and spinal cord (myelin) becomes damaged following a breakdown in the immune system. This disrupts nerve signals from the brain to the rest of the body resulting in loss of vision, muscle stiffness and uncontrollable movement, fatigue and ataxia (balance and coordination problems).

Reporting their data in the journal Nature, scientists from Yale University in the U.S. and the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg, in Germany, say that they believe salt consumption could be connected to rising rates in autoimmune diseases. Previously many health experts have stated that genetics increase the risk of such diseases in addition to our surrounding environment. Other reasons for the progression of multiple sclerosis are from a viral infection, smoking and a lack of vitamin D.
In their report, the researchers note: “This study is the first to indicate that excess salt may be one of the environmental factors driving the increased incidence of autoimmune diseases.”

For their study, the team decided to focus on the presence of T helper cells in the body. T helpers are a sub-group of lymphocytes that work to help other cells fight viruses or bacteria by releasing T cell cytokines.

A subset of these T helper cells are known as ‘Th17 cells’ and past researcher has suggested that the Th17 cells help to promote inflammation that is important for defending against pathogens, and connected to diseases like multiple sclerosis, psoriasis, and rheumatoid arthritis. Treatment options for some of these diseases involve manipulating T cell function.

Vijay Kuchroo of the Harvard-affiliated Brigham and Women’s Hospital and a member of the Broad Institute, says: “The question we wanted to pursue was: How does this highly pathogenic, pro-inflammatory T cell develop. Once we have a more nuanced understanding of the development of the pathogenic Th17 cells, we may be able to pursue ways to regulate them or their function.”

The scientists found that by exposing the Th17 cells to a salt solution made them act more ‘aggressively’. In addition, it was discovered that adding salt to the diet of mice actually increased the number Th17 cells and that genetically engineered mice with a form of MS, suffered with more severe MS disease in comparison to those mice fed a more ‘normal’ diet.

Study co-author Ralf Linker, from the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg, said: “These findings are an important contribution to the understanding of multiple sclerosis and may offer new targets for a better treatment of the disease, for which at present there is no cure.”

Another of the study’s authors, Professor David Hafler, from Yale University, added: “These are not diseases of bad genes alone or diseases caused by the environment, but diseases of a bad interaction between genes and the environment. Humans were genetically selected for conditions in sub-Saharan Africa, where there was no salt. Today, Western diets all have high salt content and that has led to increase in hypertension and perhaps autoimmune disease as well.”

Junk food contributing to health problems in kids

There are countless health problems that junk food can pose to children. As well as being terrible for skin, causing spots and maybe losing popularity with friends, junk food can contribute towards tooth decay, is primarily responsible for the increasing childhood obesity epidemic that is sweeping across Britain – now being thought to increase the risk of liver disease in children and even leading to experts designing a childhood obesity risk calculator which can predict a new-born’s chance of becoming obese as they get older.

However, thanks to a study conducted by researchers based at New Zealand’s Auckland University, the list of health problems in kids that can be attributed to the consumption of junk food can now be increased.

More specifically, they are coincidentally the same issues that a survey published last week found could possibly be connected to the failure of Brits to wash their bed sheets at least once every week – asthma, eczema and rhinitis.

The study was a project examining the dietary habits of 181,000 youngsters aged six to seven within 31 different countries, in addition to 319,000 teenagers aged 13-14 from 51 countries.
Both the kids and their parents were given questions regarding the youngster’s diets and if the kids suffered from symptoms of asthma, or had itchy eyes, runny noses and eczema – a skin condition that causes itching and red/dry skin that can be appear cracked or broken.

From the results of the Auckland University study, health experts are now concerned that a diet comprising of high levels of saturated fat can be detrimental to children’s immune systems. This is because it was discovered that teenagers who ate food such as burgers three times a week or more were at a 39% higher risk of developing severe asthma, whilst younger kids were found to be 27% more at risk.  In fact, regardless of gender or financial status, junk food was the only type of food to show similar health problems across both age groups.

Those who ate junk food at least three times each week were also more susceptible to the eye condition rhinoconjunctivitis (rhinitis) – characterised by various symptoms including sneezing, red eyes,  runny nose and nasal congestion. However, the researchers also learned that by consuming about three portions of fruit and veg each week could reduce the risk by 14% in the younger group and 11% for the teenagers.

Writing in the British Medical Journal, the study authors state that their findings do not prove a definite cause and effect, but comment: “Fast food may be contributing to increasing asthma, rhinoconjunctivitis and eczema. Regular consumption of fruit and vegetables is likely to protect against these diseases.”

If you have suffering with Allergic rhinitis and/or asthma then Medical Specialists are at hand to help. We have a vast range of medications to help both asthma and allergy sufferers, all at fantastic prices. If you are suffering from asthma-like symptoms, you should see your doctor immediately for a diagnosis.

Your doctor is able to prescribe medication if he feels you have asthma. If you have already been prescribed an inhaler or have lost your inhaler or run out and cannot get a prescription immediately, we are able to supply you an inhaler to help your asthma symptoms. We have both blue (relievers) inhalers such as Ventolin and Salbutamol, and brown (preventers) inhalers such as Qvar Beclomethasone and Qvar Easi-Breathe.

If you suffer from hay fever or allergies we have many options for you including Alomide allergy eye drops, Loratadine tablets, Nasonex spray, Prevalin allergy nasal spray and Prevalin allergy kids nasal spray.

Dirty bed sheets can cause asthma and other health problems

A survey has discovered that potentially almost a fifth of Brits are not changing their bed sheets at least once every month, possibly leading to a wide range of bothersome health conditions such as asthma, rhinitis and worsening the symptoms for those who suffer with the skin condition eczema.

Research was commissioned for the home retailer Dunelm Mill, which involved surveying over 2,000 people across the UK on their sleeping habits. TV’s cleaning gurus Kim and Aggie recommend that people should change their bed sheets at least once a week, and it would appear that only about two in five are adhering to their advice.

Approximately half of those surveyed admitted they slept in dirty sheets and it seems women are the more guilty when it comes to not washing the sheets. Over half of the women quizzed admitted that they fail to clean their sheets on a weekly basis, with 12% only bothering to change their sheets just once every month and 1% said they simply never changed them whatsoever.

Perhaps surprisingly, men fared a little better than the women, going some way to showing that men are not domestically lazy as many presume! In fact, 40% of the men who participated in the survey claimed that they did a weekly change of the bed sheets and an additional 8% said that they changed the sheets even more often than this. Overall, 36% of those surveyed do it every two weeks, 17% change just once a month, and 3% are so infrequent in their bed sheet-changing habits that they couldn’t even remember how many times they perform this task.

The research could also possibly suggest which areas around Britain are the most hygiene-conscious. It was found that the Scottish and those in the North West came up tops in regards to sheet-changing habits, with 50% and 51% respectively alternating their sheets once a week, or sometimes even more. On the other end of the scale, only 41% of people in the South East in the survey had similar claims.

There could be many reasons for the relaxed attitude to such a chore. For example, a survey conducted in 2011 by Sheila’s Wheels indicated that many people feel they do not have the time or motivation following a hard day’s work, coming home to prepare tea and then any other jobs that need doing such as food shopping, etc.

The second most common reason stated in the 2011 survey was energy saving. As we are still in the midst of a recession, many households are now struggling to pay bills more than ever, and it can prove a costly exercise for larger families having to wash and dry sheets for everybody. With four beds in a particular household, washing and drying sheets can add at least £1.50 to the cost.

However, cutting back on washing the sheets as regularly as required can end up costly to your health. Dr Adam Fox, a paediatric allergist at a leading London teaching hospital, warned: “Having good bedroom hygiene when it comes to changing your sheets is about more far than just freshening up your linen. We spend about a third of our lives asleep and this is reflected in the debris that we leave between the sheets. Our bodies shed millions of skin cells each day, many of which rub off in our sleep and are deposited in our beds. In addition to skin cells, our bodies also secrete fluids, sweat and oils during a long nights sleep. Whilst unsavoury in themselves, these deposits mostly pose a problem as they are all deliciously appealing for dust mites. Dust mites in themselves are quite harmless; however the droppings of these microscopic creatures are laden with allergens which can cause health complications. When inhaled, these allergens can provoke asthma and rhinitis and may also worsen eczema. In order to reduce the possible problems caused by dust mites the professional recommendation is that people with dust mite allergies should be taking a number of measures to reduce allergen exposure. Those who suffer particularly badly should consider investing in dust mite proof bedding and we should all be making it a priority to wash our sheets on a one to two weekly basis at 60 degrees. It may seem like a bit of a chore but taking these precautions helps to protect against the health complications which may be caused or worsened by the unwanted dust mites which share our sheets.”

Chemicals in fragrances could trigger asthma and skin problems

Next time you overdo it and shower yourself in perfume or aftershave, spray deodorant on, spray air freshener around the home, use scented candles or even scented toilet roll – think about what all these things could be doing to your health.

We warn this as a leading health expert has spoke on the different ways, highlighting that part of the problem could be down to a ‘contact allergy’ that roughly one in 20 of us suffer from, and this number may be increasing. The contact allergy is in reference to when perfumes and other scented products cause eczema outbreaks as well as dermatitis when they touch the skin, and many more problems other than this can arise.

It is believed that molecules in the fragrances trigger an immune response and result in the sufferer experiencing scaly, cracked, dry and itchy skin.

Dr Susannah Baron, consultant dermatologist at Kent & Canterbury hospital, and BMI Chaucer Hospital, warns that more of the population may start to suffer from such problems in the future. She commented, “Allergies are on the increase, and the amount of perfumed products is also on the rise. Fragrance allergy can show up as contact dermatitis in the site a perfumed product is applied, or as a flare-up of existing eczema. It can be a real problem.”

Dr Baron’s comments follow-on from July of this year when the EU Scientific Committee on Consumer Safety requested that perfume manufacturers should state any possible allergens in their product after reports emerged regarding the risks of skin conditions flaring up after usage.

Dr Baron further warns people to be careful regarding over-using fragranced products as it may not be fully obvious you have developed an intolerance or allergy. She continued, “You don’t react immediately; the body notes that it does not like the chemical and develops ‘memory cells’, which cause inflammation when the body is next exposed to this chemical. Gradually, as you are exposed more and more, the body ramps up its reaction, until it becomes more noticeable to you.”

Even those without existing problems or allergies may be at risk of building up to eventually have a fragrance allergy. Dr Baron says, “You can become suddenly allergic to perfumes and personal care products that you have been using for years. You can also have problems with unexpected products such as scented toilet roll and scented wipes which can cause irritation.”

However, it gets worse. People with skin and scalp conditions are not the only people who could suffer. Those who battle with regular migraines could see a more regular occurrence of severe headaches and experts further warn that products like plug-in deodorisers and mild air fresheners have chemicals in them that could induce an asthma attack. The charity Asthma UK claims that perfumes can affect the airways in asthma sufferers and result in breathing difficulties.

Asthma UK are not the only ones to warn about the dangers though. Over in America, Dr Stanley Fineman, of the Atlanta Allergy and Asthma Clinic in the U.S., says he has conducted research that shows a clear alteration to lung function when the lungs come into contact with particular chemical fragrances.

So what can be done then to avoid or manage all these potential problems? Firstly, if you do suffer with eczema, you should always try to only use non-fragranced emollient to wash your hands and body. Migraine sufferers would be advised to keep a diary that documents what particular products trigger a migraine and this will enable them to keep their exposure to an absolute minimum. Dermatitis is another issue that we touched upon earlier, and this can be treated with therapeutic medicated shampoo such as T/Gel which costs just £4.95 from Medical Specialists Pharmacy. In addition, if you have suffering with allergies and/or asthma then we are at hand to help. We have a vast range of medications to help both asthma and allergy sufferers, all at great prices. If you are suffering from asthma-like symptoms, you should see your doctor immediately for a diagnosis.

Your doctor is able to prescribe medication if he feels you have asthma. If you have already been prescribed an inhaler or have lost your inhaler or run out and cannot get a prescription immediately, we are able to supply you an inhaler to help your asthma symptoms. For suitable patients we have both blue (relievers) inhalers such as Ventolin and Salbutamol, and brown (preventers) inhalers such as Qvar Beclomethasone and Qvar Easi-Breathe.

If you suffer from hay fever or allergies we have many options for you including Alomide allergy eye drops , Loratadine tablets, Nasonex spray, Prevalin allergy nasal spray and Prevalin allergy kids nasal spray.