Wellbeing

9 of the Most Common Skin Diseases in Humans

Since skin is the largest organ in the human body, it isn’t hard to see how uncomfortable — sometimes even damaging — skin diseases in humans can be.

Not only does our skin protect our internal body parts, but it also is one of the few parts we can allow others to see. Most other parts are invisible, even to us.

Sometimes, when we have skin discomfort, it can affect other parts of our bodies. The opposite is true, as well: some internal conditions of our bodies can manifest as skin discomfort, redness, or lesions.

Wondering about the most common skin conditions you might come across? Keep reading to learn more.

Nine Common Skin Diseases in Humans

Many conditions can affect human skin, including some that occur very infrequently. However, the following examples exclude rare skin disorders to focus more on those that are relatively common.

Skin Cancer

Any cancer diagnosis can be devastating to the person affected and their loved ones. Skin cancer is no exception. There are multiple types of skin cancer, but the two we’ll look at here are melanoma and basal cell carcinoma.

Melanoma

Melanoma is the more life-threatening of the two. It often begins as a mole, but then spreads into an irregular shape. Melanoma is highly malignant and quickly spreads into deeper layers of the skin, where it can metastasize to other organs.

Treating melanoma can involve multiple therapies such as surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation.

Basal Cell Carcinoma

Basal cell carcinoma is more common as well as more easily treated than melanoma. It usually can be fully cured. The basal cells are where new skin is generated. This form of skin cancer is characterized by one or more of the following types of lesions:

  • A pearly white, skin-colored or pink bump
  • A brown, black or blue lesion
  • A flat, scaly, reddish patch
  • A white, waxy, scar-like lesion

A frequent cause of both of these skin cancers is unprotected exposure to the sun and its destructive ultraviolet rays.

Shingles

About one in three people are diagnosed with shingles at some point in their lifetime. This illness is caused by the varicella-zoster virus, the same virus that causes chickenpox.

Shingles tends to appear as a swath of blisters on one side of the body, typically the torso, neck, or face. The shingles rash is painful (often severely) and burning.

If you had chickenpox as a child, shingles could manifest in mid-to-late adulthood. After someone recovers from a shingles episode, its effects might linger for years.

Psoriasis

Psoriasis is an “immune-mediated disease” that causes red, scaly patches on the skin. There are five different types of psoriasis, of which plaque psoriasis is the most common. Others include Guttate, inverse, pustular, and erythrodermic.

Psoriasis tends to affect the scalp, face, hands, feet, nails, genitals, and skin folds. This disease can affect people of all ages and any racial group. It’s believed to have a hereditary connection, but this is still uncertain.

Eczema

Eczema is an uncomfortable condition in which small areas of skin are rough, itchy, red, and cracking. The most common of the seven forms of the disease is atopic dermatitis. “Atopic” refers to an immune response triggering the condition.

While usually a children’s skin disease, eczema can occur at different life stages. It often appears first in infants and young children, however, it sometimes continues into adolescence or adulthood. If this is the case, the symptoms will be different from those seen in young children.

Measles

Measles is a serious and highly contagious disease. Despite there being an effective vaccine to prevent it, many thousands of people (mostly young children) die from it annually.

The first symptoms of measles (runny nose, a cough, red and watery eyes, and small white spots inside the cheeks) begin 4-7 days after exposure to the virus. Within a week, a rash appears and spreads over the body, from head to feet.

Complications of measles, especially for those under age 5 and over age 30, include blindness, encephalitis, severe diarrhea and related dehydration, ear infections, or acute respiratory infections such as pneumonia.

Acne

Acne is a common skin condition caused by inflammation of the hair follicles and oil-producing sebaceous glands in the skin. The disease is characterized by one or more of several types of pimples or cysts. The pimples can cause lasting scars.

Today, though, there are new ways to treat acne, such as Zeolite skin care. There’s renewed interest in the longstanding antibacterial benzoyl peroxide. There’s even an acne vaccine on the horizon.

Cold Sores

The HSV-1 virus, also known as herpes simplex, is the cause of cold sores. This virus is most often spread by kissing an infected person. Those who contract the condition are likely to be genetically predisposed to it.

The HSV-1 virus lies dormant in nerve cells until a break-out occurs. When it does, a cold sore typically “erupts” as a blister following the appearance of red, irritated skin. After the blister bursts, it crusts over and eventually heals.

Cold sores have nothing to do with the common cold. Their occurrence in those carrying the virus tends to be brought on by stress, sunlight, fevers, or menstruation. There is no cure, but break-outs can be treated and sometimes prevented.

Rosacea

Rosacea is a skin condition that causes redness and visible blood vessels on a person’s face. It looks like extremely pronounced blushing.

The cheeks and nose redden, and small pimple-like bumps emerge. Rosacea also affects the eyes and nose.

Several things can trigger rosacea outbreaks, such as certain foods and drinks, weather conditions, emotions, exercise, and medications. Rosacea isn’t curable, but some topical and oral treatments have become available recently.

Beneath the Skin

No matter how common skin disorders might be, they affect everyone who suffers from them individually. Skin diseases in humans cause many problems — not the least of which might be a reluctance to go out in public or be photographed. No one likes being stared at, either.

Moreover, strangers sometimes avoid physical contact, even handshakes, with anyone whose skin looks unusual. Their fear is that the person’s skin condition is contagious. Some skin conditions are contagious, but what a burden to bear for those whose conditions are not!

By the way, we have a lot of terrific articles on many topics. If you found this one worthwhile, be sure to check back and see what else there is to read about.

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