Skin Care — Online Dermatology Resources
The human body's largest organ is its skin. It is the medium through
which we enjoy beauty, sexuality and the entire world of tactile information.
It is also the site for countless maladies that can leave us itchy,
disfigured or dead. Dermatology therefore is a broad discipline.
Here are the best dermatology resources online -- both general dermatology sites and sites for skin cancer, psoriasis and acne. Look to the list at right for links to pages about other specific skin ailments.
General Dermatology Resources
A
good place to start for overall skin care and dermatology information
is the American Academy of Dermatology. The AAD site is
an exhaustive resource about skin, providing information on a raft of
skin ailments, contact information for related foundations,
institutes and support groups, and a search tool that lets you locate a dermatologist near you.
Also useful is the online counterpart of Skin Care Today magazine, which had articles on acne, hives and dandruff when we visited. But you also can browse recent issues for information on rashes, warts, dry skin and more.
One of the most critical responsibilities of dermatology is the detection and treatment of skin cancer, which The Centers for Disease Control calls "the most common and most rapidly increasing form of cancer in the United States." The AAD has a comprehensive Skin Cancer section, with 60 pages of news and information. If that overwhelms you, MedicineNet provides an excellent one-page explanation of the causes, symptoms and treatments of the disease.
For a more in-depth report on the Internet's skin cancer resources, see NetGuide's article, "Skin Cancer Resources Online."
According to the AAD, four to five million people suffer from psoriasis in the United States. The AAD psoriasis page provides a good overview of the causes, diagnosis and treatment of the condition, as does the Skin & Cancer Foundation of Australia.
More in-depth information about the condition can be found at the National Psoriasis Foundation/USA site, which has a detailed explanation of the disease (which includes diagrams), breaking news about it, info for child sufferers and more than 60 other pages on the therapies, research, announcements and publications on psoriasis.
Professionals will want to consult with the Dermatology Times to keep up to date on developments in the condition.
The AAD page on acne answers many of the questions you may have about the condition, but for those wanting a more detailed exploration, the organization has worked with Roche Laboratories to produce the Acne Net site. It covers the basic facts about acne, ways to prevent it, frequently asked questions and even the social impact of the condition.
The Dermatology Times acne section allows professionals to keep on top of developments in the field.
None of these ailments comes without an emotional toll. Skin Care Today's article "Skin Disease: The Psychological Implications" states that some people "may develop an anxiety or depressive disorder requiring psychiatric treatment" in reaction to even mild skin disorders.
Conversely, some skin problems can be exacerbated by such psychological factors as stress or depression, writes Harvard Medical School psychologist Ted Grossbart. His book, Skin Deep, is excerpted online and discusses the psychological factors that may contribute to various skin conditions and the treatments that may alleviate them.
Skin Beauty
Less weighty in tone, the BeautyNet 'zine’s Skin Care section offers tips on shaving, cosmetics and the like. I would go elsewhere for serious dermatology advice, though -- the 'zine has a whole section dedicated to tanning, but doesn't tell you it'll give you cancer.
--Julie C. Roth
(NetGuide originally posted this article on May 10, 1998.)
