Fingernail health may be one of the last things people think about, but does it actually matter?  While your fingernails probably aren’t at the top of your healthcare priority list, keeping them clean and fungus-free is still important. Whether you love your regular manicures or the only reason you even cut your nails is that they get in your way, here’s why you should pay attention to something as obscure as your nails.  Why Fingernail Health Ma...

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We know it’s counterproductive to fight among ourselves. We see it in families, organizations, and politics all too frequently. But what happens when our own body fights itself? This isn’t productive either, and it often results in an autoimmune disorder.  Autoimmune conditions occur when the body incorrectly identifies something not native to the body and creates an immune response to reject it. When the immune system works right, it keeps you he...

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Blisters form for a variety of reasons. We’re used to the small blisters that pop up when we break in new shoes or start using a new tool, but if a larger blister occurs, it can seem there’s cause for concern.  Sometimes large blisters form from friction. We most commonly notice these blisters on people in wheelchairs or after a person has a long stay in the hospital or experiences a bed-confined illness. While these friction blisters are a signif...

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When we think about chemotherapy, many of us think of intravenous medications for the treatment of cancer that result in difficult side effects such as hair loss and nausea. While these medications can be highly effective, they’re also hard on the body.   Much like our preconceived chemotherapy associations, topical chemotherapy targets and destroys cancer or precancerous cells, but it doesn’t lead to hair loss or sickness in the same way. While ...

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You finally scheduled your annual skin exam.  Maybe you have a friend or family member recently diagnosed with skin cancer. Suddenly, you realize, “I’ve never had my skin checked!” or “I missed my last annual exam!”  Or you have a spot on your skin that looks suspicious, and you’re tired of worrying, so you might as well get a skin check. Even if you haven’t been to the dermatologist in years (or ever), you’ve taken a vital step towar...

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Parenting is an endless journey of deciding what time is the right time to do what – and skincare is no different.  For most parents, three primary questions come to mind when they start thinking about their child’s skincare:  How soon should I bring my child to the dermatologist?  What skin problems are they susceptible to and when do I need to be on the lookout for those issues?  Is skin cancer in kids something I need to worry about?  As ...

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Have you noticed a pink, scaly spot on your skin that never seems to go away?  If so, it’s time to visit your dermatologist, as you could be experiencing the first signs of actinic keratoses. Although it’s not dangerous on its own, it’s a warning sign of the potential for skin cancer in the future. Actinic keratoses are one of the most common issues we see in the dermatology clinics. It’s evidence that the skin has had too much sun exposure. B...

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