Vita Dermatology Blog

There's Help For Excessive Sweating

Hands down, there is nothing a dermatologist can do more to help someone's quality of life than stop their excessive sweating.

If you find that statement ridiculous, you probably do not have a sweating problem. Excessive sweating can make you appear uncomfortable, nervous or even ill. It can be a socially disabling condition and lead to isolation and insecurity. An estimated 3 percent of Americans suffer through the day trying to hide and mask their sweating. The incidence is possibly higher, but the degree of embarrassment people experience likely limits self-reporting of this condition.

Sorting Out The New Rules On Sunscreen

Is an SPF of 100 better than 50? What do the terms waterproof, water resistant and broad spectrum really mean?

If you are confused, you are not alone. After a lot of arm wrestling back and forth, the FDA finalized its sweeping new sunscreen guidelines for consumers and they go into effect this year.

What Are Shingles?

If you are over 60, chances are that your doctor has immunized you with the shingles vaccine or counseled you to get it. At least that is what the folks at the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta hope will happen. But even the best laid medical plans go awry in our world of managed care, cost shifting, and vaccine phobia.

Suffering From Rosacea?

Are you a flusher? A blusher? Tired of that chronic redness on your face or your adult acne? You may very well have a treatable condition called rosacea.

Rosacea, or the “Curse of the Celts” as it is historically known, tends to plague those of northern European heritage unequally higher than other backgrounds. It is a dirt-common disease that is just beginning to be understood by modern medicine.

It is said that "chronic itch is the skin equivalent to pain." Itching disrupts sleep, limits your activities, diminishes your concentration and generally is quite maddening. We will scratch, claw and tear up our skin to satisfy that annoying itch sensation. It is poorly understood by modern medicine but the burden on patients is very real and taxing to even the most stoic of individuals. A psychological component complicates its definition and study, as just thinking about itchy things can cause you to itch.