Q&A about skin issues with Dr Christopher Steele - ANSWERS BACK

[RachelMumsnet]

We're inviting you to send in your questions over the next week to Dr Chris Steele about skin problems. Whether it's stretch marks, scars, skin blemishes or dry skin, he'll be on hand this week to answer your questions.

Dr Chris Steele qualified as a doctor in 1968 and has worked as a GP in South Manchester since 1970. He has been the resident doctor on ITVs This Morning for the last 23 years and was voted Health Journalist of the Year in 2007.

Dr Chris is working with Bio-Oil who are running a campaign to help improve the nation's relationship with their skin blemishes. Skin Stories a campaign to celebrate how every scar and stretch mark tells a story, whether it's the birth of a child or falling off our bike when we were young. They would like you to upload your own Skin Story as an inspiration to other women, to empower them to think and feel more positively about their own skin. For every story shared, Bio-Oil will donate £1 to the British Skin Foundation to help fund research into skin health.

Send in your questions to Dr Chris before the end of Thursday 17th November

This Q&A has been sponsored by Bio-Oil

This is for my pre-teen daughter... She is just 10 and is already getting acne, well before other's in her class. I have been to the stores and find the products don't seem to have changed a great deal in the past few years (decades!), and you get alot of conflicting advice. She drinks lots of water and has a relatively well balanced diet (except the leftovers from Halloween), and has sensitive skin. Can you recommend a straightforward skin regime for her?

I have very sensitive skin on my face that varies between oily and dry and recently is very red. Everything I have tried on it just makes it more itchy even if I use the sensitive skin versions. I am using Aveno on it, which whilst it doesn't make it itchy doesn't do anything for UV protection and my skin is still dry/oily/red - any suggestions please (I am 47 if that makes a difference, and not as far as I know menopausal).

I'm 13 weeks pregnant and have been getting acne spots in my hair and around my hairline (thankfully not on my face). What can I do/use to help?

My husband has reoccurring eczema on his feet. It is exacerbated by stress. It gets infected and very painful. He is generally given Fucibet and Double Base to deal with it, plus uses oil in the bath. Is there anything else that would help prevent flare ups? He gets really fed up with it.

My coeliac dh gets intensely itchy skin if he takes a bath or shower anywhere except at home - eg in hotels, etc. He can't use chlorinated swimming pools.

Is there anything he can do to enable him to bath/shower on hols without going mad with itching?

Hi I have been diagnosed with a condition called livedo reticularis. I have it on my feet and knees and it is slowly spreading and is quite painful too so I wear support bandages. Can you give me any advice on how to ease the condition or get rid of it completely. I have had it almost a year and noone in the medical field seems to be able to offer any solutions to date.

Hello,

I have fertility issues and when I don't ovulate, my skin feels enormously dry and scaly. No moisturiser sorts it out. Any advice for how to deal with this?

Hi

My Son has had psoriasis for several years. He is now 24 and a junior Dr and the psoriasis is particularly bad on his hands, with large cracks due to constantly washing his hands. He has patches of it in several places including a small amount on his face - help please!

my DD had severe blistering eczema on her limbs which cleared after phototherapy treatment, and although her skin is still dry the ulceration hasn't reoccurred

she has been left with scarring and dark patches of skin around her ankles, the outside of her elbows and up the front on her shins

will this scarring fade as she grows (been 18months since treatment and no visible change in the appearance) and if not, is there any treatment available to cosmetically improve the appearance?

I have had acne since I was 13. It's worse around the time of my period, but generally I always have some spots, blackheads, White heads and red patches. I have tried the pill, I have tried gentle products on my skin too, but I can never get rid of them. I feel like the world's longest acne sufferer! Is there anything you can suggest?

I have seborrheic dermatitis, exacerbated by allergy to certain fragrances, Balsam of Peru, and a couple of other things. Since switching to fragrance-free products (household cleaning as well as personal) my skin is much better all over, but still very dry.

Why is it that whenever I go to Centre Parcs, and am in the swimming pool for hours at a time, my skin clears up completely, becoming silky smooth and totally itch-free? Surely that's counter-intuitive - you would expect that spending hours at a time in a chlorinated pool environment would make skin troubles worse!

I am starting to suffer from acne/rosacea on my face, and occasional outbreaks on my back or chest. I'm 39 with a lovely 2 3/4year old and my hormones have been going haywire ever since I stopped breastfeeding (about 19 months ago)! I did suffer from adult acne in my mid to late 20's, but after roacutane treatment it cleared. I have had my hormone levels checked by my GP (and also been checked for ovarian cysts based on other symptoms). My oestrogen levels were high but have come down again based on test results. So it seems my skin problems are hormonal. The spots do vary with my cycle each month - I get 2 peaks with outbreaks. I'm also trying to get pregnant again, so what options do I have to help with my acne in the meantime?

Hi Dr Steele
My son is 12 and I notice he is starting to get a few spots. I suffered acne as a teenager myself and it blighted my life at the time and probably damaged my confidence in my self image for ever. Eventually I took a low dose of antibiotics which sorted it out.

I don't want my son to go through the same. Is there anything that can be done at the onset of teenage acne to at least reduce/control it? All those paint stripper type anti acne products never helped. Or maybe there are better products these days?
I eagerly await your reply.

Hi,
I've suffered with acne since my early teens but now at the age of 32 it's worse than it's ever been. I have PCOS so suppose it's related to that.

I've recently tried Zineryt, a 3 month course of Erythromycin and Differin but none have made much difference. The only thing which worked for me in the past was the combined pill (dianette and yasmin) which I can no longer take. Over the counter remedies containing Benzoyl Peroxide make my skin blister so I am unable to use them.

Is there anything I can do? I am really at the end of my tether with it and feeling more and more self conscious. My self esteem is really taking a battering.

I'm 42 and have suffered from bad skin for 30 years. The effect of this has ruined my general confidence and has had far reaching impacts on my life.

Just recently, and after years of desperate experimentation, I've discovered two things that have dramatically improved my skin: 1, not using any night cream and having a completely bare face overnight and 2, cleansing with virgin coconut oil and gently but completely steaming it off with a very warm cloth. Sometimes I tone with witch hazel or rosewater.

I wish I'd not bothered with all those drugs and expensive cosmetics that I've tried over the years and instead used a simple bit of alchemy as I am now! I now rarely have spots, have far fewer blocked pores and lines, and my skin looks more clean, bright and toned than before. My scarring also appears to have blended away a little! I still have some sensitivity around my nose but I always do in the autumn and put it down to big indoor/ outdoor temperature changes.

Dr Steele, how does the use of plant based oils manage to reduce skin scarring, as it seems to do?

Hi

I have very fair skin and blue eyes. My forearms, upper arms and shoulders are covered in freckles and moles. Mainly on my forearms though. I have more than 20 on each foream.

I also have one or two on my chest. I get more and more every year and i wonder if this is ok? Some of them are shiny and risen up. Some of them are barely brown at all, just funny pale colour and are risen up. The one of my chest itches to the point where I don't want to wear a scarf. The whole area of skin on my chest has becoem sensitve and the risen up on on my upper arm keeps getting a scab on it and is a bit red around the edges. I feel fine otherwise. I do not want to trouble my GP in case he thinks I am nuts.

It is something that needs to be checked out?

I'd like to ask about Keratosis pilaris- I suffer from this on my arms quite badly; however, when pregnant it dramatically improves, and has disappeared from my lower arms completely.

Is there any evidence or proven link between hormones and KP? Is there anything I can do to prevent it returning once my baby is born?

Thanks

Dr Steele, do you genuinely think Bio-Oil is any good? I tried it for a total of six months (in two 3-month bouts) and found it to be completely ineffective at tackling the skin problems it claims to improve.

I know you can't really answer this question as they're sponsoring you, but I am surprised that a doctor would align themselves with such a poor quality product.

Another for keratosis Pilaris, especially a problem on my upper arms but mine has worsened during and after pregnancy. It isnt painful, just unsightly. Is it worth bothering my doctor, is there anything he/she can prescribe or shall I just grin and bear it? What home remedies could I try?

Hello, I have had quite severe lymphodema since being treated for breast cancer in 2010. However I find it almost impossible to get rid of eczema on that arm. The rest of my eczema is easily controllable. My GP is very concerned but apart from applying the creams and moisturising is there anything else I can do? I am in my 40's.

Georgeclooney, you need to keep your eczema patch moist. This means preventing creams from rubbing off onto your clothing. Place a piece of plastic onto it and hold it in place any way you can - use tape, or put a support bandage over it, anything. The longer you keep it on (i.e days or more) the more effectively your skin will heal. Just replace it after showering.

You may not even need steroids for that patch, so long as you use a good, rich, non-irritant cream or ointment on the skin first.

YourMother, how odd that yours gets worse and mine better during pregnancy- can I ask, are you having a boy or a girl?

With my first pregnancy I gained a lot of weight, in part due to gestational diabetes. This left me with a lot of stretchmarks all over my torso and thighs, some of which got to the point of splitting and bleeding because they couldn't take the strain. I have lost a lot of the weight but the stretchmarks seem to be scarred and not fading. Is there anything I can do because I have lost my confidence in my body and it's affecting my relationship.

Also, my DD has mild eczema, asthma and allergies. It seems that whenever she has an allergic reaction she gets a rash which then results in particularly uncomfortable itchy dry skin, which then takes an age to clear and jumps about all over her body if things even irritate her skin slightly. She uses diprobase after washing, but it doesn't seem to help. Is there anything else I can do for her?

I have psoriasis on my scalp-it's quite bad and I find myself picking it without meaning to. Years ago a doctor gave me cream but it was too difficult to put on without leaving my hair a greasy mess, and given I was supposed to use it every day I gave up in the end. It goes away when I'm not stressed but with a baby daughter at the moment it's pretty bad. Is there anything I can do for it that isn't a topical cream?

Also, may I ask a second qu, this time for a friend? She has always had acne (since about 12-now 28-on her face, chest and back) and was on a particular pill for about 10 years which was very effective at clearing it (begins with a d-dianette??), plus has had antibiotics on and off for it too. She takes probiotics and is very healthy. She's off that pill now as the doctor said it wasn't safe long term and the acne is back. She's getting married next year and really wants her skin to be good for her wedding (and generally of course) so is trying out medik8 products. She's a bit of a skin junkie and always trying new things to try and find something that will help. She's thinking of having regular facials in the run up to the wedding. Is there anything you can recommend to get her skin clear once and for all?

My 11 year old dd has severe gutate psoriasis widespread on her body and also scalp psoriasis, sometimes it's so bad it is bleeding. We have been prescribed a number of different lotions and creams and shampoos including steroid creams, some have been more effective than others, but we have not yet found the 'one' which really clears it or even helps long term. She is under a dermatologist but no further treatment as yet. What would you advise? Thankyou.