Inflammation is as Bad For The Skin as It is For the Heart

The amount of inflammation in our body is a critical component of overall health. 

Speaking to your consultant can help you figure out if you have high levels of inflammation. But also there are several ways to measure inflammation, but a simple test is for CRP, or c-reactive protein. The healthiest level is to be under 1 mg/L. It is likely you have an inflammatory disease if your levels are over 10 mg/L.

 It is thought that a major cause of heart disease, but it regulates the aging of our skin as well. 

Skin needs blood flow to carry oxygen, it needs the blood flow to carry away toxins, and it needs to be able to hydrate by carrying the fluid directly to the skin. 

Skin that is compromised by inflammation cannot even absorb the products that we use as effectively.

Your Thyroid And Your Skin

Sometimes it isn't the products you have been using, or the slight sun blush of summer, or the fact that you had a bit too many late nights this month that is getting your skin out of control, there are other causes.One cause you may not have associated with skin problems could be thyroid disease.Low or under active thyroid can cause dry skin, but most often it is described as "coarse." Those with over active thyroid can have changes of the skin as well, and even more symptoms due to thyroid problems can be seen. Some times the excess thyroid hormone can produce sweating and a redness to the skin, similar to blushing from the heat. This can actually happen to those who have an under active thyroid, but are given too high a thyroid dose of medicine. In overactive thyroid patients they may describe their skin as too oddly smooth, this is because the layer of keratin on top of the skin is abnormally thin. This lack of keratin can produce skin that too easily burns as well. Over active thyroid also can cause an odd skin condition called myxedma. It is a puffiness of the skin in the areas that it occurs. The puffiness is actually due to odd extra layers of collagen or even the entrapment of natural hyaluronic acid in skin layers where it is not supposed to occur. Graves disease, a condition of overactive thyroid that also has high abnormal antibodies circulating in the skin can produce a special red bumpy skin condition, that is usually only on the shins. Some patients with these thyroid abnormalities can report itching, or the odd appearance of hives which were not detected before. The thyroid conditions, particularly overactive, can cause abnormally metabolizing other hormones, so that imbalances occur in other systems, like your cortisol. Not so much a result of the thyroid itself, but the cortisol metabolism can be off causing changes in skin pigmentation, and even the new odd appearance of stretch marks. For those who have had a gradual decline in thyroid function, this may not be obvious, but you might want to consider testing if your treatments for your skin conditions are not working. Particularly if your hair or nails are showing changes as well, then get tested!. Blood testing  for most thyroid conditions is straight forward and thus correction is possible and your skin can be back to looking well...as long as you continue your good skin care!

Skin Welting

Dermographism in a patient with hives

If you have hives, you likely will also have a condition called physical urticaria. What happens is that any stroking of the skin, or scratching will form a raised line where you drew the line. This is also called dermographism. It will flare up within minutes of the scratch, and basically seeing what occurs is all that is needed for a diagnosis. If you are having hives it is important to tell your treating aesthetician so that they can advise you if doing treatments like microdermabrasion is safe at that time. We don't fully understand the causes, but it happens in as many as 5% of the population and will last weeks, months or years. Relapses can occur even after the condition resolves. Some women report worsening during their menstrual cycle but this hasn't been confirmed by all studies. It's possible that a skin infection or antibiotics trigger it. Using over the counter antihistamines is not a bad first line of treatment, and others may need prescription strength or even other types of medication. Some people need chronic medication to control the symptoms.