Skin Diseases
Skin diseases are conditions that affect your skin. These diseases may cause rashes, inflammation, itchiness or other skin changes. Some skin conditions may be genetic, while lifestyle factors may cause others. Skin disease treatment may include medications, creams or ointments, or lifestyle changes.
What are the most common types of skin diseases? Some skin diseases are minor. Others cause severe symptoms. Some of the most common skin diseases include:
- Acne, blocked skin follicles that lead to oil, bacteria and dead skin buildup in your pores.
- Eczema (Atopic dermatitis), dry, itchy skin that leads to swelling, cracking or scaliness.
- Psoriasis, scaly skin that may swell or feel hot.
- Rosacea, flushed, thick skin and pimples, usually on the face.
- Skin cancer, uncontrolled growth of abnormal skin cells.
At least 1 in 5 school-going kids here have eczema, cases could rise further
Eczema in children here remains a common condition and the number of cases could rise further, doctors say.
One in five school-going children in Singapore has atopic dermatitis (AD), the most common form of eczema, which often starts in infancy or early childhood.
A dermatologist’s top tips on relieving dry, itchy skin
You don't have to suffer from dry, itchy skin. Here's how to protect your skin as you clean. PHOTO: SUU BALM
If there has been one good thing that came out of the Covid-19 pandemic, it would be this: we are washing our hands more frequently. Regular hand washing, which includes using soap and scrubbing your hands for at least 20 seconds, can reduce the spread of viral infections and bacteria, as can using a hand sanitiser.
In an April 2021 poll done by The Straits Times, almost all of the 53 respondents said they washed their hands more than three times a day. The downside to adopting this hygienic habit is those with sensitive or eczema-prone skin can be at a greater risk of getting hand eczema. The reason? Soap and sanitisers tend to dry out skin, especially if they are formulated with germ-fighting alcohol.
When skin is stripped of its natural oils and moisture, the top-most skin barrier, which forms its first line of defence against external stressors, gets weakened and irritation and inflammation are more likely to occur.
Rollerball device to relieve eczema itch
Koh Bei Ning’s rollerball anti-itch device for eczema skin is becoming a reality with her Kickstarter and website launch. (Photo: Koh Bei Ning)
Imagine suffering from eczema and endless itchy skin. And then imagine you create a nifty rollerball device that relieves eczema itch – and it gets picked up by the James Dyson Award for a national innovators contest. Imagine you get so much interest that you crowdfund on Kickstarter to make your rollerball invention a reality. Koh Bei Ning doesn’t need to imagine. This was her dream and it’s becoming a reality.
Koh suffers from atopic dermatitis (its common name is eczema) and as part of her final-year thesis at the National University of Singapore (NUS) Division of Industrial Design (DID), she created a rollerball itch relief device that works as a gentle alternative to scratching. She submitted her design as an entry to the James Dyson Award, an international design innovation competition which highlights design engineers at the start of their careers. Her rollerball device became the Singapore runner-up.
Koh’s invention is a rollerball mechanism with a textured ball that rolls over the skin. It uses repetitive downward pressure on itchy skin to provide relief through the texture, while minimising force on the skin. For sufferers of eczema, this motion reduces tearing of already inflamed and irritated skin and avoids further irritation from fingernails when scratching. Doors opened for her after her invention won accolades, which enabled her to share how her eczema itch relief rollerball, now called Rollo, works. “I have been given many valuable opportunities such as participating in Prototypes for Humanity, an exhibition in Dubai which gathers 100 student innovations,” she said.
