Many people rely on home remedies for boils. Boils (also known as skin abscesses or furuncles) are not serious but they can be ugly and painful.

Boils can be caused by the bacteria Staphylococcus aureus, by an infected hair follicle or an ingrowing hair. Staph infections are likely to spread to other parts of the body or to other people if not treated. You should see your doctor, especially if you think you may have a Staph infection or if you develop a fever along with your boil.

Simple Boils

Simple boils are easier to treat and can often be eliminated by natural methods. They are a little like large, hard pimples, pus-filled lumps in the skin. Most methods of treatment involve removing the pus. A doctor may do this by lancing the boil with a sharp instrument but it is not recommended to do this at home. It is very likely that you would make the situation worse.

External Treatment

The best way to treat boils externally at home is to bring the infection to a head using heat. Apply a sterilized hot compress every 15 minutes. This should bring the pus toward the surface of the skin and it will start to drain off. Continue, being sure to wash the area and your hands frequently with antibacterial soap.

When the boil is fully drained, the whole area should be treated with antibacterial soap or lotion. Repeat until the area has healed.

Internal Treatment

If you catch the boil early, you can often prevent it from developing by taking the spice turmeric. Turmeric is an Indian spice commonly found as an ingredient in curry. It is believed to have anti inflammatory and blood purifying actions as well as being good for the digestion.

You will need around a teaspoon of turmeric 3 times a day. You can make it into a drink or add it to food. Eat it in curry or add turmeric to soup. You can also take it mixed into yogurt, or try making a tea of turmeric, powdered ginger, lemon juice and maple syrup. You can even add it to chocolate milk.

Drink plenty of water if taking turmeric, as it tends to provoke sweating and you may be more likely to become dehydrated.

Other Types Of Boils

Cystic acne will often produce boil-like symptoms. Unlike a boil, a cystic acne pimple will often go away in time without ever coming to a head. However, you may need antibiotics, either internally or in the form of a cream. Do not try to force the pus out by squeezing. This can lead to scars.

Hidradenitis suppurativa is a serious form of abscess that occurs in clusters in sweat glands or hair follicles, usually in the armpit, under breasts or in the groin area. This disease is rare and often runs in families. It is not easy to cure and will not respond to home remedies for boils.

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Tags: abscess, acne, anti inflammatory, antibiotics, Boils, fever, food, furuncles, Hidradenitis suppurativa, home remedies, pus, scars, staph infection, Staph infections

I just drop ideas on my wife sometimes and she just shakes her head wondering what I am thinking. This happened a couple of days ago when I mentioned that I was going to do microderm abrasion at home. May not be entirely a good idea but I will get to that a bit farther down the page.

Microderm abrasion is a method used either in office or at home to scrape the top of your skin off. I know that this description is not very fair but most articles on the subject are very fluffy and vague. Actually in an esthetician or dermatologist office there is specialized equipment which will help the person to gently scrape that top layer of skin off and then suck that off your skin so that it does not clog your pores.

Usually people will go for about 12 sessions or so of microderm abration and this should clear the skin really well getting rid of some of your scars and uneven coloring of your skin. So if it is so easy why not do this procedure at home? Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: acne, microderm, microderm abrasion, scars, USD

Treatment of severe acne is something that some of us need to deal with at one time or another. Severe acne is when you have lumpy acne that does not go away and is very red. When I was younger I took Accutane to get rid of my severe acne as well as injections and drainage to get rid of my severe acne.

Drainage and Surgical Excision
Some large cysts do not respond to medication and may require drainage and extraction. Drainage and extraction, or acne surgery as it is also called, should not be performed by patients. Dermatologists are trained in the proper technique and perform acne surgery under sterile conditions. Patient attempts to drain and extract comedones by squeezing or picking, can lead to infection, worsening of the acne and scarring.

Severe acne requires an aggressive treatment
regimen and should be treated by a dermatologist.

Acne Injections
When an acne cyst becomes severely inflamed, there is a good chance it will rupture and scarring may result. To treat these severely inflamed cysts and prevent scarring, dermatologists may inject such cysts with a much-diluted corticosteroid. This lessens the inflammation
and promotes healing. An interlesional corticosteroid injection works by “melting” the cyst over a period of 3 to 5 days. As painful as this may sound I never found it to be bad at all, the needle is this and it is really good to get rid of the lumpy red zits.

Accutane
Accutane is a potent drug reserved for treating severe cystic acne and acne that has proven itself resistant to other medications. Accutane is a synthetic (man-made) retinoid (form of vitamin A) that comes in pill form. It is usually taken once or twice a day for 16 to 20 weeks.

Today, it is the most effective acne treatment available because it is the only acne treatment that works on all four factors that predispose a person to acne – excess oil production, clogged skin pores, P. acnes and inflammation. The remissions achieved with Accutane usually last for many months to many years. For many patients, only one course of Accutane therapy is needed.

While Accutane is the most effective acne treatment available, it cannot be prescribed to everyone due to a number of potential side effects, some serious. One of the most serious side effects is the potential to cause severe birth defects in a developing fetus. For this reason, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) requires that women not be (or become) pregnant while taking Accutane. FDA regulations require women of childbearing age to take 2 pregnancy tests prior to beginning Accutane therapy and use 2 forms of birth control for 1 month before therapy begins, while taking the drug and for 1 full month after therapy. It is also important that women not breast feed during this time. Women who wish to become pregnant after taking Accutane should talk to their dermatologist and gynecologist about when it is safe to get pregnant after receiving Accutane therapy.

Other possible severe side effects that may occur while taking Accutane include:

* Severe pain in the chest or abdomen
* Trouble swallowing or painful swallowing
* Severe headache, blurred vision or dizziness
* Bone and joint pain
* Nausea or vomiting
* Diarrhea or rectal bleeding
* Depresion
* Dryness of the skin, eyes and nose
* Thinning hair

If any side effect occurs, the patient’s dermatologist or other healthcare practitioner should be contacted immediately because some of these side effects can lead to serious health problems.

While taking Accutane, patients are regularly monitored for side effects through follow-up visits. For most people, these side effects are tolerable and not a reason to discontinue therapy before remission is achieved. However, it is important to keep appointments for follow-up visits because monitoring can reveal conditions that a patient might not notice. For example, a patient may not realize a rapid increase in bad cholesterol that is detected through a blood test.

The decision to use Accutane should be made jointly by patient and dermatologist. When used with all due caution under close medical supervision, Accutane can resolve severe acne that has not responded to other therapy. It has proven especially effective in resolving cystic acne, a severe form of acne that usually does not respond to other therapies.

For a substantial number of patients, one course of Accutane therapy is all they will ever need. A small number of patients require more than one course of Accutane therapy to control severe acne.

It is important to take Accutane as prescribed even if the skin clears before all of the pills have been taken to prevent relapse. At the end of an effective course of Accutane therapy, all or most of the acne lesion will have cleared. Patients may notice residual erythematous (reddish) macules (flat spots) where acne lesions were present. These macules are not scars, and they will fade in 6 to 8 weeks.

After therapy, patients should continue to follow the Skin Care Guidelines for People with Acne.

Antibiotic pills
Oral antibiotics have been a mainstay of therapy for severe acne for many years. Like topical antibiotics, oral antibiotics work to reduce the P. acnes population (a contributing factor in acne), which, in turn, decreases inflammation. Treatment with oral antibiotics usually begins with a high dosage, which is reduced as the acne resolves. Over time, the P. acnes bacteria can become resistant to the antibiotic being used to treat it. When this happens, another antibiotic can be prescribed. Numerous studies support the effectiveness of the following broad-spectrum oral antibiotics that are used to treat acne in the United States: doxycline, erythromycin, minocycline and tetracycline. For information about each of these oral antibiotics, see Prescription Acne Medications.

Birth Control pills
Birth Control pills have been shown to effectively clear acne in women by suppressing the overactive sebaceous glands. Oral contraceptives can be used as long-term acne therapy; however, this medication should not be prescribed to women who smoke, have a blood-clotting disorder, are older than 35 or have a history of migraine headaches without the advice of a gynecologist.

Spironolactone, a synthetic steroid, may be used in combination with birth control pills to treat acne in adult females. Spironolactone inhibits androgen production. Side effects include irregular menstruation, breast tenderness, headache and fatigue

Are these tips all you need to prevent acne? If not you should be interested in a proven method to rid you of your acne. Then read my review of a best acne cure. Another great product I have reviewed is Acnezine.

Tags: accutane, acne, Acne Treatment, acne_cures, antibiotics, birth control, birth defects, blood-clotting disorder, cyst, cysts, diarrhea, dizziness, drainage, excess oil production, gynecologist, headache, healthcare practitioner, inflammation, joint pain, migraine headaches, nausea, Oral, Oral contraceptives, pain, scars, surgery, U.S. Food and Drug Administration, United States, vitamin a, vomiting

Acne is a disorder that causes outbreaks of skin lesions commonly called pimples. It is caused by the skins oil glands making too much sebum, an oily substance, which leads to plugged pores. It also can be caused by the rapid production of a bacteria P. acnes.

Acne lesions occur mostly on the face, neck, back, chest, and shoulders. It is the most common skin disease. Although acne is not a serious health threat, severe acne can lead to disfiguring and permanent scarring.

How does acne affect women?
Most young women and men will have at least a few pimples over the course of their lives. But acne seems to affect men and women in different ways. Young men are more likely to have a more serious form of acne. Acne in young women tends to be more random and linked to hormone changes, such as the menstrual cycle.

As women get older, acne often gets better. But some women have acne for many years. Some women even get acne for the first time at age 30 or 40.

For many women, acne can be an upsetting illness. Women may have feelings of depression, poor body image, or low self-esteem. But you don’t have to wait to outgrow acne or to let it run its course. Today, almost every case of acne can be resolved. Acne also can, sometimes, be prevented. Talk with your doctor or dermatologist (a doctor who specializes in treating skin problems) about how you can help prevent acne and if treatment would help you.

To find out about the the best acne treatment read my review.
Read the rest of this entry »

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The promise of a more youthful look was too tempting for 53-year-old Mary Schwallenberg to pass up. So, when the Food and Drug Administration approved a product that temporarily improves the appearance of frown lines between the eyebrows, the Orlando, Fla., resident took a shot at it. And it wasn’t long before she became one of many people clamoring for regular treatments that often include refreshments and friendly conversation, as well as injections.

Botulinum Toxin Type A (Botox Cosmetic) is a protein complex produced by the bacterium Clostridium botulinum, which contains the same toxin that causes food poisoning. When used in a medical setting as an injectable form of sterile, purified botulinum toxin, small doses block the release of a chemical called acetylcholine by nerve cells that signal muscle contraction. By selectively interfering with the underlying muscles’ ability to contract, existing frown lines are smoothed out and, in most cases, are nearly invisible in a week.

Botox injections are the fastest-growing cosmetic procedure in the industry, according to the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ASAPS). In 2001, more than 1.6 million people received injections, an increase of 46 percent over the previous year. More popular than breast enhancement surgery and a potential blockbuster, Botox is regarded by some as the ultimate fountain of youth.

Schwallenberg, a pharmaceutical sales representative who is excited about her next round of injections, says she wants to look her best for her job. “That’s corporate America for you,” she says. “I have a lot of energy and I just wanted to look good.”

Botox was first approved in 1989 to treat two eye muscle disorders–uncontrollable blinking (blepharospasm) and misaligned eyes (strabismus). In 2000, the toxin was approved to treat a neurological movement disorder that causes severe neck and shoulder contractions, known as cervical dystonia. As an unusual side effect of the eye disorder treatment, doctors observed that Botox softened the vertical frown (glabellar) lines between the eyebrows that tend to make people look tired, angry or displeased. But until this improvement was actually demonstrated in clinical studies, Allergan Inc., of Irvine, Calif., was prohibited from making this claim for the product.
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Tags: Allergan Inc., America, American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, American Society for Dermatologic Surgery Botox, April, blepharospasm, board-certified plastic surgeon, botox, Botox Cosmetic, botulism, California, cervical dystonia, chemical called acetylcholine, dermatologic medical officer, Ella L. Toombs, energy, eye disorder, FDA's Division of Vaccines and Related Products Applications, FDA's Office of Cosmetics and Colors, Florida, flu syndrome, food and drug administration, headache, injection site, Irvine, Julianne Clifford, Mary Schwallenberg, movement disorder, muscle contraction, muscle disorders, muscle weakness, nausea, Orlando, pain, pharmaceutical sales representative, plastic surgery, poisoning, prescription product, president, qualified physician, respiratory infection, retail venues, scars, Scott A. Greenberg, skin surgery, strabismus, surgery, the eye disorder treatment, United States, vaccines, Winter Park