Dr Roger Down is a medical specialist with decades of experience in skin cancer and melanoma diagnosis and treatment, and he has recently established a clinic in Manly, Brisbane.
BY DR ROGER DOWN, MBBS, FRCS, FRACS, MD(Lond)
Skin care is at the epicentre of beauty all over the world. But why? Skin is the first thing we all see, making each of us so special and unique.
Many myths about skin have evolved in our culture, including:
- The sun is bad for your skin;
- All skin cancers are due to UV and sun exposure;
- Skin cancers only occur when you are old.
Yes, we need to care about our skin as much as we do our diet. Without our skin, we would not survive.
The skin has several major functions:
- It ‘wraps us in’ to prevent water loss; after all, we are 85 per cent water!
- It is the major controller to keep our body temperature between 36.5 to 37 degrees Celsius.
- It is the major source of Vitamin D with sun exposure.
- It is covered with friendly symbiotic bacteria to protect us from disease – no need for antiseptics/sanitisers, which would kill the good bugs and leave us vulnerable to attack.
- It produces natural moisturisers to keep itself healthy.
- When skin is penetrated (as occurs with a wound), it rapidly heals itself to become impervious to external bugs within two to four hours.
So, let’s look after our skin. It’s simple; here are a few tips:
- Only wash with soap and water occasionally, not antiseptics or sanitisers.
- Get regular intermittent, short doses of sunshine.
- If injured, only use a dressing that breathes for the first day. Occlusive dressings trap sweating and encourage infection.
