Which Has More Germs, Toilet Seat or Kitchen Sponge? CDC says public toilets are safe, but the anxiety remains. “To sit or not to sit?” This is a practical question when confronted with a public toilet seat.
Where Are The Most Household Germs?
Category: Authors
Ticks And Lyme Disease
Lyme Disease In Northern California No summer dermatology series would be complete without a few words on ticks and Lyme disease. While relatively uncommon in the north state, Lyme disease is here and likely gaining ground. Traditionally, we think of Lyme disease as being an East Coast problem, but it is now found across 48 […]
Excessive Sweating
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 […]
The New Sunscreen Rules
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 […]
Skin Care Tips #2
Skin Cancer And Driving An interesting social change has happened in America. More often older men get skin cancers on their left side and most older women on their right. This is believed to be due to older generations’ attitudes. They believed a man should be the driver and the woman’s place was in the […]
Sometimes You Should Give Antibiotics A Rest
The Uses And Abuses Of Antibiotics
"Doctor I think I have a spider bite!"
To your health care provider, that means MRSA until proven otherwise. Many people who believe they were bitten by spiders actually have Staphylococcus abscesses. MRSA, or Methicillin-resistant Staph aureus, is a strain of bacteria on the march.
Skin Care Tips #1
Getting A Base Tan? Getting a baseline tan before you go on vacation does not offer the sun protection you may think. In fact it probably will lead to a false sense of security and lead to longer exposure time. A baseline tan grants the average Caucasian skin a built-in SPF of about 2-4. You […]
The Fountain Of Youth?
Don’t Fall Prey To So-called Youth Elixirs
The fight against aging is nothing unique to our time.
Ponce de Leon landed in the New World and embarked upon a fruitless quest to find the Fountain of Youth. The first Chinese emperor employed alchemists to concoct mercury elixirs to grant him immortality.
Fingernails And Your Health
What Do You Know About Your Fingernails?
We paint them. Polish them. Trim and manicure them. Bite them. Run them down chalkboards. Our hands are intimate parts of our being and the nails are their crowning symbols. They broadcast our health, diseases, and personalities.
Shingles – The Virus, The Pain and The Vaccine
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.