DEAR DOCTOR K: I’m tormented by anal itching. What’s causing it? And how can I make it stop?
DEAR READER: Anal itching occurs when something has irritated the skin around the anus. For example, if the anal area isn’t cleaned properly after a bowel movement, a small amount of stool may be left behind on the skin. This would cause the area to itch.
DEAR DOCTOR K: I am a 43-year-old woman whose hair has gone quite gray in the past year. I’ve had a fairly stressful year, and since the change in my hair felt quite sudden, I’m wondering if stress could have caused it. If not, what else might be the culprit?
DEAR READER: It’s easy to assume that stress causes gray hair, because there appears to be evidence all around us. Take President Barack Obama as an example. Compare photos of Obama taken before he ran for president to more recent pictures. You’ll notice a distinct difference. His hair used to be consistently dark brown. Now, there are areas of gray dotting the landscape. Is the stress of running a country to blame?
DEAR DOCTOR K: After a recent cross-country drive, staying in many roadside motels, I ended up with a skin infection called impetigo. Could I have gotten this infection in a motel? And how can I prevent it in the future?
DEAR READER: It would be difficult for me to say for certain where you picked it up. Impetigo is a highly contagious bacterial skin infection. The shorthand names for the two types of bacteria that cause impetigo are “staph” and “strep.” The same type of strep that causes strep throat can also cause impetigo. These bacteria can live on people’s skin without causing impetigo or any other visible signs. They also can live for short periods on upholstery, bed sheets, clothes and other objects a person may come into contact with.
DEAR DOCTOR K: I am a 46-year-old African-American man with keloids on my chest. My first problem is that I don’t like how they look. But I’m also worried about other effects — are keloids a threat to my overall health?
DEAR READER: First, let me calm your fears: Keloids are harmless. Because keloids look like growths, some of my patients who have them are worried they may turn into cancer. You may not like how they look, but they do not become cancerous. And they don’t cause other serious health effects, either.
DEAR DOCTOR K: A friend recently revealed that she is allergic to sunshine. I was so surprised — what does this mean, exactly?
DEAR READER: I agree that it’s a strange-sounding concept, but sun allergy is a real phenomenon. A sun allergy is an immune system reaction to sunlight.
DEAR DOCTOR K: My 19-year-old daughter is in college, and she recently told me there had been an outbreak of body lice in her dorm. She didn’t get them herself, but I’m still afraid she’ll bring them with her when she comes to visit. What can you tell me to calm my fears?
DEAR READER: Your chances of getting body lice are slim. I’ll discuss why, but first let’s talk about what body lice are and how to deal with them if you get them. Body lice are small, parasitic insects. They live mostly in a person’s clothing or bedding. One or more times a day, they crawl onto the skin to feed on a person’s blood.
DEAR DOCTOR K: I’m a woman in my mid-50s plagued with acne for the first time in my life. Please help!
DEAR READER: Most people get acne in childhood — about 80 percent of teenagers suffer from it. However, it’s not that unusual for someone to first get it later in life. Acne occurs when the lining of hair follicles becomes blocked. Hair follicles are little pores in the skin through which hairs grow. Tiny glands in the skin squirt body oils into the follicles.
DEAR DOCTOR K: My teenage daughter went to a tanning bed for the first time last year, before her junior prom. What troubles me is that she never stopped going after that. How bad is tanning for her health?
DEAR READER: There’s something about having a tan that makes us feel more attractive, so it’s not surprising that tanning salons are popular with teens.
But as healthy as a tan may make you look, it’s not healthy. In fact, tanning can be downright dangerous. That’s why you should talk to your daughter and urge her to stop now.
DEAR DOCTOR K: I have a painful ingrown toenail. Can I treat it at home, or should I leave it to a professional?
DEAR READER: Ingrown toenails can really hurt. They are the best reason I know to regularly trim your toenails. Most ingrown toenails develop when a corner of the toenail curves down and digs into the skin. There’s usually soreness, swelling, redness and warmth. The area may become infected. Whether or not you should treat an ingrown toenail at home depends on the severity of your symptoms and whether you have a complicating medical condition.
DEAR DOCTOR K: During the colder months, I’m prone to “attacks” in which my fingers and toes get very cold and then go blue and numb. Although they do eventually return to normal, it’s a recurring problem. Could I have Raynaud’s disease?
DEAR READER: Raynaud’s is certainly one cause of cold fingers and toes. You mention that your symptoms come and go. This, coupled with the fact that your fingers and toes lose color, leads me to believe you may have Raynaud’s. In addition to causing your digits to feel cold or even painful, Raynaud’s causes the top part of the fingers and toes to get very white or blue-purple.
Dr. Anthony Komaroff is a practicing physician, Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, and Editor in Chief of Harvard Health Publications. Learn more »
Harvard Health Publications is the publishing division of Harvard Medical School, providing the general public with authoritative, trustworthy, and accessible health information. Learn more »
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