Doctors point out mistakes in treating skin diseases

Many people think that skin diseases are only mild when they cause discomfort and loss of aesthetics for the patient, so sometimes they do not see a doctor but treat themselves and cause many health complications.

The US National Library of Medicine also notes that acne often appears during puberty due to hormonal changes (increased sex hormones androgen), affecting about 95% of adolescents.

Many people suffer from acne that persists into adulthood. Women are more likely to have this condition than men due to pregnancy, menopause, and hormonal imbalances.

In just one month, a general hospital in Ho Chi Minh City received about 500 cases of acne treatment, mainly for students, of which about 50% had severe acne due to self-treatment.

Most patients are in the 12-35 age group, and come to see a doctor when their acne is severe, greatly affecting their appearance and quality of life.

Ms. PVH (22 years old, in Ho Chi Minh City) has had acne all over her face since she was 13 years old. H. said she has used many types of acne medications, spent a lot of money, time and effort but the acne has not improved.

She tried all the tips online or from acquaintances, such as washing her face with rice water, lemon juice, diluted lime water, green tea leaf water; using toothpaste to dot pimples; applying apple cider vinegar… She maintained the habit of squeezing pimples with her hands, using a stainless steel pimple extractor, or going to a spa to extract the pimples.

Last week, after self-peel (chemical skin resurfacing) at home, she experienced irritation, swelling of the face, and inflamed acne, so she immediately went to the hospital for examination.

D.TA (16 years old, Vung Tau) also did not know how to get rid of acne, often using a ballpoint pen to squeeze pimples, leaving dark scars.

At a dermatology clinic, TA was diagnosed with teenage acne and prescribed oral hormonal regulators, topical medications to dry out acne, and facial cleanser.

After more than a month of treatment, acne was still all over her face, back, and chest. Impatient, TA bought an acne treatment cream online, advertised as “clearing acne in 1 week”, and used it. On the third day, when she saw TA had a high fever, the acne was purple and oozing pus, her mother rushed her to the hospital.

The two patients were diagnosed with dermatitis and secondary infections on a background of severe acne due to hormonal disorders and improper skin care. Ms. H.'s facial skin was also irritated due to the use of chemical peels with too high a concentration of acid, leaving her with many dark scars and mild concave scars.

Currently, Ms. H. and TA are being treated at the hospital with hormonal regulators, antibiotics, anti-inflammatory drugs, and acne medications, along with zinc supplements. To quickly improve the condition, TA was prescribed acne extraction, skin peeling, and high-intensity light pulse (ILP) therapy in the acne areas.

Ms. H. performed iontophoresis with acne treatment essence and Cellum Pro biological LED light to quickly heal the damage. When the acne is under control, Ms. H. will continue to treat complications of dark scars with pico laser, peeling off the bottom of the concave scar, using fractional CO2 laser to fill the scar along with using RF micro-needle technology to shrink pores and improve collagen structure for acne skin.

Dr. Dang Thi Ngoc Bich, head of the Dermatology - Skin Aesthetics Department, Tam Anh General Hospital, Ho Chi Minh City, said that Ms. H. had a hormonal disorder but was not properly diagnosed and treated, so her acne did not go away.

With acne, patients need to persistently follow the treatment regimen, it may take 1-3 months for acne to improve. When hormones in the body are regulated, acne will gradually subside and disappear.

The two patients were also advised by the doctor on how to properly care for acne-prone skin, suitable for each person's skin condition. In addition, the patients need to change their diet and lifestyle, such as drinking enough 2 liters of water, going to bed early and getting enough 8 hours of sleep, eating lots of green vegetables and fruits, and limiting starch and soft drinks.

Acne is a disease of the sebaceous gland - hair follicle unit, including two types: non-inflammatory lesions (characterized by blackheads, whiteheads), or inflammatory lesions such as inflammatory papules, pustules, nodules, cysts... mainly in areas with many sebaceous glands such as the face, chest, back...

Acne that is not treated properly can cause severe, chronic damage, facial acne creates ugly scars, increased or decreased pigmentation affecting the patient's aesthetics and confidence.

However, acne in particular and skin diseases in general are rarely life-threatening, patients often do not take it seriously, or self-treat, and only go to the hospital when the disease is severe. At this point, acne becomes chronic, leading to serious complications such as infection, secondary infection, acne scars, increased or decreased skin pigmentation.

The most common mistake of patients is to squeeze pimples themselves. Using unsterilized hands or tools to squeeze pimples can easily cause skin infections and abscesses.

More dangerously, if you squeeze pimples in the forbidden area - the T-zone (forehead, nose, chin, mouth) where there are many blood vessels and nerves in the cranial region) it can cause edema, swollen eyes, facial distortion, even cavernous sinus thrombosis causing coma, life-threatening.

Many patients also abuse cosmetics, drugs, and acne treatment products of unknown origin, causing acne to flare up all over the body, accompanied by bacterial infections, scarring, and difficult-to-heal scars...

According to Dr. Bich, it is difficult to verify the ingredients in these products. They may contain substances that are not licensed for use on facial skin, such as corticosteroids, high concentrations of acid, mercury, etc. Users may become “addicted” to applying the cream, and if they stop using it, their skin condition will deteriorate rapidly.

Like Ms. H., many patients come to the clinic due to “accidents” after using skin peeling drugs and acne removal creams of unknown ingredients and origin online. Skin peeling is a procedure that must be prescribed by a doctor, with the appropriate type of drug and acid concentration.

Different types of chemicals will have different uses, there are peels to treat melasma, peels to treat acne... Furthermore, not all skin types can be peeled, it also depends on the condition and properties of the skin at each time.

If your skin is thin, sensitive, has severe acne, infections, fungal infections, etc., you should not peel your skin. After peeling, you should also avoid the sun and apply skin recovery and moisturizing products to protect your skin.

Folk remedies such as applying toothpaste, betel leaves, lemon juice, aloe vera, egg whites or bathing in the sea to treat acne are also not accurate. There is currently no scientific evidence to prove the effectiveness of these remedies.

These ingredients still contain many unrefined active ingredients, containing bacteria and germs that can easily cause irritation, allergies, and secondary infections. Applying these ingredients for too long can also easily clog and keratinize hair follicles, promoting the formation and worsening of inflammatory acne.

Seawater contains salt but also many other impurities, so it is not like antiseptic water. Swimming in the sea can make the condition worse.

Also regarding mistakes in treating skin diseases, information from the Central Dermatology Hospital shows that parents do not have the right way to care for their children, such as using folk remedies such as bathing in salt water, herbal water, or water that is too hot, which affects the skin of young children.

Parents also tend to buy drugs of unknown origin, or drugs that are not prescribed properly, causing the disease to not be cured, and tend to get worse. When parents take their child to the doctor, it is no longer the initial diagnosis of a skin disease, but maybe 1 or 2 other conditions.

According to Dr. Nguyen Thi Ha Vinh, Central Dermatology Hospital, when seeing their children have hives, some parents will bathe them with star fruit leaves, dry red dermatitis, eucalyptus leaves, soapberry leaves, and gotu kola leaves. These leaves have no effect on the disease because the pathogenesis is not related to treatment with leaves.

Leaves may have antiseptic properties, but if used too much, they can dry out the skin and cause the skin to lose its protective lipid layer. In addition, leaves and salt water contain some incorrect ingredients that can make skin conditions worse.

Another common mistake is that parents buy cigarettes and creams with unknown ingredients, which may contain corticosteroids that are not suitable for treating skin diseases.

Similar to traditional medicine, tobacco can easily make atopic dermatitis discharge more fluid, form thick crusts, where bacteria and viruses can penetrate after the skin is already damaged.

"We have encountered cases of atopic dermatitis accompanied by other bacterial and viral infections, severe conditions, long-term treatment...", Dr. Vinh shared.

For uncomplicated atopic dermatitis, the doctor may prescribe home treatment. In severe cases of secondary infection, intensive inpatient treatment with oral and topical antibiotics is required, and treatment may take 1-2 weeks to improve. However, for chronic diseases that cannot be completely cured in 1-2 days, the patient must persistently follow the doctor's treatment regimen.

Doctors at the Central Dermatology Hospital note that for people with atopic dermatitis, humid weather makes the disease worse. Especially in young children who run around a lot, sweat in the folds, humidity makes the dermatitis worse, or is infected with other bacteria and viruses, parents need to take their children to see a doctor promptly, do not self-treat.

Source: https://baodautu.vn/bac-sy-chi-ra-sai-lam-khi-dieu-tri-cac-benh-ve-da-d222473.html