You would perhaps be not surprised to know that dermatologists see a lot of itchy patients. For that matter, I find that most people actively start itching when they hear that I am a dermatologist!   You may, however, be surprised to find out that not all itching is accompanied by a skin rash … [Read more...] about I’m so itchy!

Last December, I wrote a blog on the benefits of dog ownership as we had recently acquired a new puppy that year. Dog ownership has many benefits but with regards to the Hygiene Hypothesis and the prevention of allergic disease, the evidence available in the literature at the time was limited or not … [Read more...] about ‘Biome depletion’ is a better term than ‘Hygiene Hypothesis’

Another common problem in childhood is warts. It is surprising how many children are referred either on the NHS or privately with warts, be they on the hands, feet or elsewhere.   What are warts? Now this sounds like a pretty daft question but in a way, the answer helps to underline the … [Read more...] about Warts all the fuss about?

The youngest of the family has finally had chicken pox…, phew..., and "Pickin' chocs" is what he called it, by way of explanation! Everyone else in the family has had it and it was getting a bit of a worry that the youngest hadn’t had it yet.   Why do you want to get it? As we all know, … [Read more...] about Pickin’ chocs!

It is the month that all the children go back to school and some are rejoicing - holiday childcare issues over for now! - whilst some are bemoaning the increased congestion on the roads in the morning and mid-afternoon. Many have hopefully enjoyed a good summer holiday, either at home or … [Read more...] about Is this vitiligo?

The last time I talked about hard water and eczema was in my blog in April of last year.[http://sandyflann.com/dr-sandy-flanns-blog/the-role-of-water-softeners-in-eczema]The advice at the time, from a large, multicenter, randomized controlled trial was that ion-exchange water softeners could not be … [Read more...] about Hard water and the risk of developing infantile eczema

The summer holidays are almost upon and we all can’t wait to feel that heat and sun upon our skin. Maybe some of us have been lucky enough to have been somewhere warm and sunny already! However, we are clearly not being safe enough in the sun as recently reported data has shown. In April … [Read more...] about Increasing rates in skin cancer diagnosis.

Fungal nail infections are very common. A lot of the population probably are unsuspecting sufferers to some degree. As dermatologists, we often see fungal nail infections that are referred to us as abnormal nails in a child or a possible melanoma of the nail in an adult. Diagnosis is therefore … [Read more...] about Fungal nail infections

At the time of writing this blog post, we have had the first glorious sunny Spring days of the year after a definitely dreary, soggy few months.  And of course, we’re all feeling a bit better with the brighter days.    As usual, patients always ask how much sun exposure is safe.    Is sun … [Read more...] about Does sun exposure mean you live longer?

 Tattooing brings out all sorts of different emotions depending on who you are, your culture, background and life experiences. We more commonly think of tattoing in accordance with it being a modern fashion accessory (I’m sure many of us can remember Rachel in Friends getting a tattoo) but others … [Read more...] about To tattoo… or not?