Common Pediatric Dermatology Conditions Series: Week 3- Acne

    Acne is a very common skin condition of children and teenagers in which the pores on the face, neck, chest, back, or shoulders become plugged with bacteria, oil and dead skin cells. When this occurs, the plugged pores can begin to look red and inflamed.  Acne in part is caused by a bacterium called Propionibacterium acnes. These particular bacteria thrive in the oily environment of the skin . P. acne produced the redness and inflammation that are the hallmarks of acne lesions. Without treatment, this inflammation can cause scarring.  There are various types of acne including whiteheads, blackheads, and deeper cystic acne.  It is common for children and teenagers to have multiple types of acne at one time.

Acne is best treated early to decrease the risk of scarring. Often, people will try to treat acne with over the counter cleansers, moisturizers, and topicals. If over the counter products are not working on their own, it is time to see a dermatologist who can prescribe other medications.  These can include topical medications, and/or oral medications. A provider can also sometimes make recommendations for alternative or adjunct treatments such as chemical peels, facials, steroid injections, laser, and light therapy that can help with acne and acne scarring. Other factors that can help with acne breakouts are to minimize stress, and high-diary/high-carb diets. Break-outs can also be worsened due to hormones and certain medications. Moisturizing the skin of the face is imperative to help tolerate acne medications, and also reduce oil production. When your skin is overly dry, it will produce more oil and can lead to more inflammation and acne breakouts.

This weeks blog written by guest blogger: Abby Leboza, PA Student from Nova Southeastern 

Common Pediatric Dermatology Conditions Series: Week 2- Eczema

  Eczema is a condition in which the skin becomes inflames, irritated, and normal barrier protection function to the outside world is impaired.  This disruption to the skin barrier can cause it to become dry, cracked, itchy, red, and in some cases blister. Eczema can occur anywhere on the body, including the hands and feet.  Eczema can be due to genetics and/or allergies, and can often flare from environmental or weather changes.  When the skin starts to become irritated and inflamed, the areas can become very itchy. This itching and scratching can cause introduce infection to the skin that often need treatment with antibiotics. Signs of infection include, oozing or skin that doesn’t heal.

   Eczema is a treatable condition but is not curable.  Some people can grow out of eczema, while others will continue to have episodic break-outs.  It is important to seek treatment for eczema if it is not controlled with over the counter topical moisturizers and lifestyle changes. Eczema if left untreated can interrupt sleep, cause behavior problems, and possibly can become painful, or infected. When seeing the doctor or Physician assistant the treatment goal is to help heal the damaged skin and alleviate symptoms.  Some of these treatments include topical or oral steroids to help calm down inflammation of the skin, barrier restoration, topical immunomodualtors, antibiotics if the area is infected, and UV light therapy if appropriate.  Other steps to help control eczema at home include wearing soft and loose fitting clothes, using bland non fragrance soap and moisturizer, controlling itching with oral antihistamines, not scratching, avoiding known triggers, and washing clothes and linens in a gentle laundry detergent for sensitive skin. If no clear pattern is seen, allergy testing can help to determine what may cause flares.

 

Blog written by guest blogger: Abby Leboza PA Student from Nova Southeastern 

Common Pediatric Dermatology Conditions Series: Week 1- Impetigo, a common bacterial infection in children

Impetigo is a contagious skin condition caused by bacteria, often seen in children and infants. It usually starts as red sores around the nose, mouth, hands, or feet .When the sores open, they produce a honey-colored crust around the edges.  The condition can be spread by direct contact or touching the lesions, or by touching items another child with impetigo has already touched. Impetigo is most common in young children as well as in crowded, warm/humid areas.  Kids involved in sports such as wrestling or football are at a higher risk than children in other sports, due to physical contact.

    

            Although contagious, impetigo is not a dangerous condition. It is treated using topical and/or oral antibiotics .  In most cases, once a child has taken the antibiotics for 24-hours, they may return to school as they are no longer contagious. Scarring can occur as the areas heal, and it is import to protect areas with sunscreen and sun avoidance. Impetigo can often be confirmed by visual examination without biopsies or labs.  If the areas do not clear up with antibiotics, a culture may be taken to find which antibiotic will work best. 

This weeks blog was written by a guest blogger: Abby Leboza, Physician Assistant Student from Nova Southeastern

Take Advantage of this Quarter's Laser Promotion

From January 2017 to March 2017 you have the opportunity to take advantage of $200/off any V-Beam Perfecta laser package. 

This laser is used to treat :

• Telangiectasias (broken blood vessels)
• Hemangiomas
• Port wine stains
• Scars
• Stretch marks (striae)
• Acne
• Brown spots (lentigines)
• Warts.  

How does the Candela V-beam help improve vascular lesions?
The Candela V-beam produces an intense but gentle burst of light that selectively destroys the blood vessels of your spider veins, without damaging the surrounding tissue. After laser treatment the surrounding tissue is left intact. For the treatment of facial spider veins we generally recommend a total of 3-5 treatments each a month apart.  However, the type of vascular lesion to be treated will determine the number of treatments needed. The red veins respond better than blue veins and the smaller, matting vessels will respond sooner than the vessels up to 1.5mm in size. Port wine stain lesions have more vessels to be treated and may require multiple treatments.

How does the Vbeam help improve the look of scars and stretch marks? 
There is no current method or therapy that will completely remove scars or stretch marks. The Vbeam laser can improve the look and feel of most scars and stretch marks. It does this by stimulating collagen production in the deep layers of your skin, and helps to reduce the red/purple color in scaring. Multiple treatments are usually necessary to achieve improvement; the amount of improvement depends on the size and severity of the scar or stretch mark. Most patients notice improvement 4-6 weeks after their first treatment

How Does the Vbeam help improve acne?
Using laser can help to control acne breakouts. It uses gentle bursts of heat to reduce the amount of oil or sebum produced by the oil glands. The heat will also help to destroy bacteria that cause acne and inflammation. Vbeam will also help to improve redness in acne scars. There is minimal to no downtime after acne treatment with this laser. Most people will require a series of treatments based 2-4 weeks apart to see best results.

How does the Vbeam help improve the look of brown spots? 
The V-beam laser targets the melanin in the brown spot without damaging surrounding skin, making this one of the safest and most effective way to eradicate sun spots and discolored brown patches. Spots will likely become darker and may possibly bruise during the healing process. We recommend 1-2 treatments in most cases.

Are there any reasons that would not make me a candidate for V-beam therapy? 
The Candela V-beam is not recommended for patients with darker skin. Because of the increase in skin pigment the laser will be less effective on damaging the blood vessels of the spider veins or other vascular lesions to be treated. The depth of penetration of the Candela V-beam is limited to vessels about 1.5mm in depth. Therefore, vessels deeper than this may not respond to the therapy. Additionally, blue vessels may not respond as well as red ones.

What to expect?
Avoid the sun 4-6 weeks before and after treatment with this laser.  The feeling of a laser pulse has been described as being snapped by a rubber band or a slight stinging sensation. Following laser treatment, the area may continue to sting slightly or feel warm like sunburn.  You may also experience mild bruising, discoloration, and/or swelling in the areas treated by the laser for a week. To minimize down time please ask us about our make up to help cover any bruising or discoloration.