Your skin is so very important – after all, it’s the largest organ on your body, larger than anything internal. Your skin is your best defense against the outside world and it serves to keep the rest of your body safe from any dangers that might otherwise compromise it. However, skin can be compromised itself, and a lack of adequate skin care can have a number of consequences. Some of these consequences are minor, of course, but many of them can have a life long impact on the person in question.
Acne, for instance, is a common skin complaint, so common that it actually impacts as many as 60 million people of all ages – and all throughout the country. And the vast majority of people – up to 85% of them – have experienced or will experience acne at some point throughout their lives. While acne tends to clear up in adulthood for the vast majority of people, adult onset acne can be very difficult to deal with for many, especially when it comes to self esteem. In fact, more than 95% of those who are currently dealing with acne have said that their acne has led them to experience feelings of depression.
While acne is typically not a serious concern, seeing a medical dermatologist can help to get to the root cause of why someone is suffering from severe acne. This medical dermatologist will be able to assess the condition and then prescribe a treatment for the patient in question. While some treatments will be topical, others will be orally ingested in the form of pills – and these treatments tend to be much stronger and faster working. And while it can take some playing around to figure out how to treat each individual case of acne, there is hope for every chronic acne sufferer out there, no matter what their age or background.
But aside from the average medical dermatologist, the surgical dermatologist plays a hugely important role as well (though typically a surgical dermatologist will need to handle some much more severe cases than a dermatologist that doesn’t work or even dabble in surgical dermatology). After all, it is the surgical dermatologist who is likely to handle skin cancer cases, and there are far too many of those here in the United States, something that just about every currently working surgical dermatologist will be able to attest to all too easily.
In fact, the studies have shown that up to one million people currently have melanoma here in the United States alone. In addition to this, about one fifth of all people in this country will be diagnosed with some form of skin cancer throughout their lifespan, which is quite high, all things considered. Over the course of just one single day, in fact, up to 9,500 new people will receive a skin cancer diagnosis.
This is why seeing a dermatologist on a regular basis is hugely important, especially if you have a lot of moles all throughout your body. This is due to the fact that your dermatologist can keep track of these moles, mapping them and noting any changes. If something looks amiss, the mole in question can be removed for biopsy through the work of a surgical dermatologist. Fortunately, this early detection and biopsy by surgical dermatologist has caught many a cancer in the very beginning stages, before it has spread any further and required any more treatment.
But prevention is also just as key and is perhaps even more critical than early detection. Avoiding tanning beds is the first step that can be taken to prevent skin cancer, as they are directly correlated to higher rates of skin cancer among those who use them. In addition to this, avoiding unnecessary tanning and sun exposure will actually keep your skin looking younger for much longer, something that just about anyone and everyone can agree is a good thing.
A daily sunscreen should also be worn, even during winter months. Protecting your skin at all times of sun exposure is critical, even when you might think that you don’t really need it.
