COMMON SKIN PROBLEMS
Skin variations among individuals-for
example, in the amount of pigment, number of sweat and lubricating glands-can
be considerable. Sometimes extremes of these give rise to problems.
SKIN SPOTS AND FRECKLES
The
less pigment the skin contains, the lighter the color. Those rare people who
have virtually no pigment are called albinos. Much more common are less extreme
cases of people with skins that tend to produce relatively little pigment; for
them, sunburn must be guarded against. Many individuals have skins that freckle
on exposure to the sun. If you happen to be a freckler who must spend
considerable time in the sun, expose your skin as little as possible. A heavy
suntan lotion or face powder will help. Some lotions contain perfume oil which
may cause dark brown spots to develop, and so you may find it necessary to use
a lotion without perfume. Avoid "freckle removers.
Any
preparation strong enough to be effective may produce inflammation unless used
under medical supervision, the best thing to do for freckles are covering them
with face powder, or, if necessary, with a preparation -Covermark. If the
freckles are so disfiguring as to present a very real problem no other- wise
solvable, it is best to ask your physician to refer you to a dermatologist or a
skin clinic for a trial of more intensive treatment. What holds for freckles
does, too, for "liver spots"-marks that may occur in dark-skinned
people, and actually have nothing to do with the liver but are simply increases
in pigmentation. White areas that appear on the skin are usually due to loss of
pigment in specific areas (vitiligo). If the areas are conspicuous, the best
thing to do about them is to cover them-and, certainly, to avoid tanning, which
makes them more conspicuous.
EXCESSIVE PERSPIRATION
While this in some cases may be due to the
menopause or to actual poor health-night sweats, for example, are
characteristic of some diseases-excessive perspiration is not uncommon in
people in excellent health. If you're in good health and perspire excessively,
especially under the arms, you can probably control it with a commercial
antiperspirant-deodorant preparation of your choice. A common ingredient in
such preparations is aluminum chloride, which is usually perfectly safe, unless
you happen to be allergic or sensitive to the chemical. It is always wise to
test any preparation cautiously a few times, using very little, until you are
certain it is all right for you. If it is not, if repeated applications produce
irritation, stop using it. Deodorants, as already noted, mask odor but do not
check perspiration. Antiperspirants, commonly combined with deodorants, tend to
reduce the amount of perspiration. It does no harm to check perspiration in the
armpits, hands or feet, since the rest of the skin is large enough to do the
work of sweating. But never apply an antiperspirant preparation to the entire
body.
