A friend recently asked my opinion about water softeners as he was thinking of purchasing and installing a water softener in his home.  His family, bar himself, suffered with eczema which had worsened in recent months.  This is actually a not uncommon question.   What evidence is there for water … [Read more...] about The role of water softeners in eczema

Vitamin D is all the rage currently; everyone seems to be asking if vitamin D has a role in this disease or that disease.  Only last week, I was asked if vitamin D had a role to play in eczema; as far as I am aware, there have been no large, good quality studies that have investigated this nor shown … [Read more...] about The role of Vitamin D in melanoma

The NICE guidelines for psoriasis were published in October 2012.  Its 61 pages are quite a lengthy read and there is quite a lot to digest.    [Psoriasis: The assessment and management of psoriasis.  NICE clinical guidelines 153; issued October 2012.  … [Read more...] about Psoriasis and alcohol

Now, if you have been busy bashing around in the kitchen over the festive period you may have a few of these white spots on your nails. A friend of mine also once asked me if I thought she suffered from a vitamin deficiency.  She was worried as she had noticed small white spots on her nails  and … [Read more...] about Spotty nails

It’s that time of year when my hand eczema always deteriorates; it’s something to do with the harsh, cold weather, increased central heating and the increased washing up around Christmas time, what with all the increased amount of food preparation.  Nevertheless, it is extremely common for … [Read more...] about What’s new in hand eczema?

It is that time of year when if you’re lucky (or unlucky!) you’ll have a whole load of Christmas parties or social drinks thingies to go to, where inevitably, alcohol will be in surplus.  This brought me to thinking that this must be a pretty hard time of year for those who suffer from several skin … [Read more...] about What’s new in rosacea?

Last week’s BMJ is all about dermatology, which is unusual because we don’t normally score that high a profile.  The issue of concern is that more evidence has emerged confirming the harmful use of sunbeds, which is what we, as dermatologists, have been going on about for years, often at the risk of … [Read more...] about The dangers of sunbed use

For the past few years for Hallowe’en, I have made eyeball cupcakes for my children and their friends.  These are quite simply a cupcake with a huge ball of white icing placed on the top which is then decorated to look like a bloodshot eyeball.  After the myriad of reassurances that these are not … [Read more...] about Trick or treat…? What to advise in acne.

Now for those of us with children, it’s coming to that time of year when we’re getting them all ready to go back to school or possibly even preparing them to start school for the first time.  I remember when my eldest started school for the first time; there were a lot of new faces to get acquainted … [Read more...] about Testing for food allergy

If you are dark-skinned and have vitiligo then the summer may be a hard time of year for you.   What is vitiligo? Vitiligo is a not uncommon skin disorder which causes the development of pale or whitish patches on the skin.   It can begin at any age and is usually progressive in that once it … [Read more...] about Summer days can be hard for some…