Skin Health

Srishti Rai, 24, was born with Epidermolysis Bullosa, a rare genetic skin disease. Here, she talks about how she fights for her health every day and her passion for animation. And why she thinks jeans are over-rated. I was born seeming like a “normal” child late one February night, except for a couple of small red bruises on my chin and my ankle from the delivery. This was a little unusual, so I was taken to have the bruises treated. That’s when it was discovered that things were not as simple…

Bhanu Ramchandran talks to Sunena Gupta, a young girl whose journey to overcome self-image and mental issues caused by her chronic medical condition, is an inspiration to youngsters. 20 year old Sunena is a role model, an all-round achiever. An ace student, she is doing her Bachelors in a leading US university. She has been a basketball player in school. She plays the drums and is a Kathak dancer with several stage performances under her belt. Her next Kathak show – titled ‘Umeed’ (meaning ‘…

Urmila Prabhu, who developed vitiligo in her forties, has launched the Voice of Vitiligo, the first vitiligo support group in Mumbai, to spread awareness, build an active vitiligo community and combat the huge stigma attached to the disease. My vitiligo started in my late forties. I was going through a phase of extreme emotions. There was bereavement and celebrations within months. I had lost my partner in 2015, leaving a huge void in my life. Within eight months my daughter decided to get…

With increase in global warming, summers have become much hotter in recent years. Rising temperatures are seen with poor air quality, severe weather patterns and higher UV ray radiation. It becomes important to protect yourself and your family from the extreme heat, especially those who are living with a chronic condition.  Here is a look at certain diseases that are most affected by the summer heat and ways on how they can be better managed during summer. If any of your symptoms are not…

Smriti Sawhney, an experienced Clinical Psychologist writes on body shaming and how harbouring a negative body image about ourselves, is ultimately a self-defeating exercise. I have struggled with hair thinning the past 7 years and have cried endless nights, gone through phases of lows and irritability, gone doctor shopping, hair products shopping and may even have consumed enough number of multivitamins to cause a toxic reaction in me…all for fitting myself to the image I have for a beautiful…

Aditi Goel, 30, a budding food entrepreneur, recounts how the tough upbringing of her parents helped her come to terms with her vitiligo and how she is ready to pull the punches when faced personally or professionally with discrimination because of her depigmented skin. My first vitiligo patch appeared when I was two-years-old. It was under the eyes. My parents freaked out when they saw the discoloured skin on my face. Not because they were unaware of the disease, but because of the harsh…

People often fail to recognize the significant dangers of dehydration in winter, dismissing it as a health concern of hot, summer months. Dr Shital Raval corrects this common misconception and advocates why water is crucial even during the cold weather to stay energized. Dehydration is a hidden threat in the months of winter when many people forget to drink as much water as they do in hot summer months. This is a common mistake as we easily forget about hydration in the cold weather because we…

Recently there were two new updates on Psoriasis treatment. The use of biologics for Psoriasis and the launch of an advanced systemics drug by Glenmark. Psoriasis is a chronic skin condition that affects over 125 million people worldwide. In India alone 33 million people are affected. It is a autoimmune disorder where the normal skin cells are attacked by the body's own immune system causing skin plaques & inflammation.  Besides being a cosmetic issue, it is known to emotionally scar…

Dr Amoha Bhatia, a cosmetic surgeon from New Delhi answers a few of our queries on baldness and hair loss. How much hair loss per day is normal? About 25-100 hair falling each day is normal. This happens because hair roots undergo 3 phases which are Anagen Phase (Growth phase), Catagen Phase (Intermediate phase) and Telogen Phase. 90% of all roots stay in anaphase phase and 10% of roots are in catagen and telogen phase. Anagen phase lasts for 3-5 years. In this phase roots are healthiest and…

Dry skin affects a lot of people but it is needs more attention as a major feature of Sjögren’s syndrome (SS), scleroderma. Sjögren’s India shares some tips on how to handle dry skin.  It can occur in the form of itching, redness, scaling and cracking of skin.  Dry skin occurs as a result of immune dysfunction and destruction of moisture producing structures such as hair, oil and sweat glands. Once destroyed these oil and sweat glands cannot be restored. Although dry skin occurs…