‘Tis the season for rashes and sunburns with summer upon us, so here are my skin recommendations as someone who has been in the dermatological field for almost 2 years now:
- Wear your sunscreen and reapply intermittently, unless you want to be in a dermatology office every 3-6 months to be stuck with needles, cut on, and scarred in your 30’s+
- Do not squeeze citrus bare-handed and return to full sun exposure. This causes a rash called phytophotodermatitis.
- Think you’ve got fungus on the skin? Try OTC Lamisil (terbinafine) before you reach for anything else.
- Jellyfish sting? Do NOT apply cold water or ice—warm or hot water only.
- Got hives? This is also called urticaria! Take OTC Allegra or Zyrtec (non-drowsy) daily, even when you’re not flared. You can work up to taking 4 tablets maximum in a day if lower doses do not work. Titrate back down, as tolerated.
- Got a rash and some old creams laying around? Do NOT apply topical medications, especially steroids, without confirming if the strength and type is safe for areas of application, especially sensitive ones (e.g. face, groin, underarms).
- Got nail fungus? Maybe, but not all yellow nails are caused by fungus, some are just like that—fungal infections can be proven with a nail clipping. Got a ‘greenie’ nail? That’s a bacterial infection.
- Young people are not safe from skin cancers! Cancerous lesions can pop up as early as the 20’s for some. And the ABCDE rule of skin cancer is not always correct. Skin cancers can sometimes appear as acne-like bumps that don’t resolve and have no concerning pigmentation.
