I don’t think I’m alone in finding the whole festive season somewhat stressful. Don’t get me wrong, I do enjoy it but there’s also a huge sense of relief when it is all over. To make it all worse, when I get stressed, I develop spots, which at this age is just frankly annoying. But then, recent … [Read more...] about Get spotty!

It’s approaching Christmas time with Christmas parties galore and some of us are looking to scrub up and put on our glad rags. Well, for the sake of the environment, it’s time to say goodbye to our trusty face or body scrubs (and polishing toothpastes!)   Why? At the time of writing, … [Read more...] about Taking the rough with the smooth…

At the time of writing this blog, the British Medical Journal had just published an edition which contained a Clinical Update on Benign Male Genital Dermatoses.   [BMJ 2016;354:i4337.]   An initial thought revealed that I have not written a blog on this topic and a more careful … [Read more...] about Benign male genital dermatoses

We had people for dinner not long ago. I say this like it’s a big thing and it isn’t normally but as usual, life with all its hectic-ness had been particularly so of late and at the last minute, one of the guests informed me that they didn't eat meat. The easy steak dinner I had been planning had to … [Read more...] about Mushroom medicine

At the time of writing this blog, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has just published new guidance on the use of combination biological therapy for the treatment of metastatic melanoma.     What are biological therapies?   There are various … [Read more...] about New biological therapies for metastatic melanoma

I always get surprised by what patients say in clinic. Last week, I was advising a patient on sunscreen use and he stopped me short. He is a long-distance cyclist and he told me that he buys kilos of sunscreen at the start of the season. I started congratulating him for his foresight and the … [Read more...] about ‘Once a day’ sunscreens – too good to be true?

The recent Georg Rajka International Symposium on Atopic Dermatitis was a truly fascinating conference. Not only was it in Saõ Paolo, Brazil, a metropolitan sprawl of 20 million inhabitants which afforded us a brief and sometimes gritty glimpse of true Brazilian culture but, for those interested in … [Read more...] about What do eczema patients really think?

A friend recently asked me whether I would recommend caffeine shampoos for his hair loss.   I was totally surprised and it even necessitated a subtle upward drift to my gaze to check out what the problem was. A particular brand of caffeine shampoo was already in mind and I was told that it was … [Read more...] about Caffeine shampoos for male pattern baldness

This month we are heading to São Paolo, Brazil for the 9th Georg Rajka International Symposium on Atopic Dermatitis. I must confess that I am rather excited as I have never been to South America but am also rather nervous, what with the Zika virus, protests and demonstrations that are riddling … [Read more...] about Boron-based creams for atopic dermatitis

Last month’s edition of the journal Clinical and Experimental Dermatology included a study looking at the active ingredients in internationally available skin lightening products in South Africa.   [Maneli MH, Wiesner L, Tinguely C et al. Combinations of potent topical steroids, mercury … [Read more...] about Skin lightening creams