Gene editing in the cosmetics industry
Now I’m not a cosmetic dermatologist. I deal with inflammatory skin conditions of the skin, hair and nails and skin lesions and that is my day-to-day. But inevitably, we have to have some awareness of products that are put on the skin because we invariably recommend certain products in conditions such as acne, rosacea and […]
Can an anti-Parkinson’s drug prevent vitiligo from developing?
At this current point in time, there are no new drugs in the management of vitiligo 😔. JAK inhibitors are around the corner, but they are still a fair way off coming to the UK and being prescribed in mainstream dermatology practice. It was therefore interesting to read in the May online edition of […]
How to get rid of your fingerprints
I don’t know about you but one thing I found really frustrating in the pandemic (amongst other things!) was the inability to unlock my phone whilst wearing a face mask. My dad, on the other hand, being a person slightly averse to new technologies has persisted with a phone with fingerprint recognition. Even when his […]
Does losing weight improve skin conditions?
I have recently received the help of various medical and surgical colleagues (yes, doctors can fall ill too!) and aside from my general health issues, I found it interesting to hear their views on how the pandemic and these post-pandemic days are impacting on their clinical practice. I was interested to hear from my […]
Waxing lyrical about history
Ever since the children were little, we’ve generally gone on holidays which have involved chucking everything in the boot of the car and just driving until we reached our destination. Initially the car was stuffed with car seats, potties and travel cots and obviously over the years this has changed and most recently involved a […]
The pros and cons of fragrance
We all want to smell nice, that’s why there is such a massive perfume industry! It adds that va va voom to your personal wardrobe, it makes a statement, it can even identify you as a unique individual. Unfortunately, dermatologically approved products should never contain fragrance. Anyone with a dermatological condition that has seen a […]
A blood biomarker for acne scarring?
If the COVID pandemic has taught us one scientific thing, hopefully it is about the power of RNA based vaccines and their impact in diseases because of their shorter manufacturing times and their greater effectiveness. It was interesting therefore to read of another use of RNA, namely micro RNA (miRNA) as a differential marker […]
Patches, cups and Covid
This is my last blog post for 2021 and one would have hoped that by now, we would be talking about something other than COVID-19. I think we can all unanimously agree that 2020 was a bit of a write-off and certainly I know that a lot of my patients (and myself!) were hoping that […]
We are what we eat…
At the time of writing this blog post, we are on holiday in Crete, enjoying a summer holiday we couldn’t have had during the school summer holidays. The little one got Covid but one month before we departed, the rest of us have been vaccinated and with the Fit to Fly’s all negative, we seem […]
Can oranges give you skin cancer?
You would not have thought it possible, no? Oranges are healthy, they are fruit, for goodness’ sake, and fruit’s good for you! But actually, if you look at the science, the thought that oranges or more specifically, citrus fruit can increase your risk of skin cancer is plausible. Why? This is because citrus […]