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Psoriasis, a disease which produces scaly pink patches on the skin, often gets worse after a bacterial throat infection or tonsillitis. When someone with psoriasis has a throat infection, antibiotics are sometimes used in an attempt to prevent this from happening. For people with psoriasis and repeated throat infections tonsillectomy is sometimes recommended. ...

Malignant melanoma is one of the most aggressive of all skin cancers. If it is confined to the skin, it can often be cured by surgery. However if it has spread, melanoma is usually incurable because it does not respond to most treatments. Recently clinicians have been trying a combination of chemotherapy and immunotherapy in the hope of improving the ...

Atopic eczema or dermatitis is one of the most common skin diseases. Chinese herbal mixtures, taken by mouth, have been used for this condition for many years. Recently, four randomised controlled trials have been undertaken to assess the efficacy and safety of this therapy. The review of these trials found that a Chinese herbal mixture, Zemaphyte, ...

Atopic eczema is the most common inflammatory skin disease of childhood in developed countries. The cause of atopic eczema is probably due to a combination of genetic and environmental factors. Atopic eczema varies in severity, often from one hour to the next and the disease can be associated with complications such as bacterial and viral infections. ...

The role of disposable napkins for preventing napkin dermatitis in infants is not yet clear. Although generally not a serious condition, napkin dermatitis is common and causes discomfort for infants, anxiety for carers and burdens the health care system. A variety of napkins are available. Carers and health care workers require evidence to assist in ...

Discoid lupus erythematosus (DLE) is a severe form of skin inflammation which occurs particularly on sun-exposed skin. It can cause permanent scarring but this can be prevented by early treatment. All forms of cutaneous lupus erythematosus are most common in women of childbearing age: this is particularly important because some treatments, including ...

There is no good trial evidence that any treatments provide long-term benefit to patients with alopecia areata, alopecia totalis and alopecia universalis. Alopecia areata is a condition that causes patchy hair loss. The size and number of patches and progress of the disease can vary between people. It can affect the entire scalp (alopecia totalis) or ...

American cutaneous and mucocutaneous leishmaniasis, a disfiguring and stigmatising disease affecting Central and South American regions, is caused by a parasite transmitted by sandflies. Pentavalent antimonial drugs (sodium stibogluconate (Pentostam, Stibanate, SSG) and meglumine antimoniate (Glucantime, MA)) have been used since the 1940s as first-line ...

Basal cell carcinoma is the most common human cancer. It is usually caused by excessive exposure to ultraviolet light. Although not life threatening, basal cell carcinoma can destroy the skin and neighbouring tissues, causing significant cosmetic disfigurement, especially on the face. Treatments include surgical removal, radiotherapy, cryotherapy (freezing), ...

Bullous pemphigoid (BP) is the most common autoimmune blistering disease in the West. Incidence figures are not available for most parts of the world but BP appears to be rarer in the Far East. Bullous pemphigoid is usually a disease of the elderly but it can also affect younger people and children. Both sexes are similarly affected. While BP usually ...