DEAR DOCTOR K: I have skin tags under my armpits. Are they dangerous? How can I remove them? What can I do to keep them from coming back?
DEAR READER: I've had many patients ask me the same question. They've just noticed this little ball of skin sticking out from someplace on their body, and of course they're concerned it could be cancer. Fortunately, it's not, and it never will be.
DEAR DOCTOR K: My teenage son wants to get a tattoo. What are the risks?
DEAR READER: These days it seems like every other young person has a tattoo, so it should come as no surprise that your teen wants one, too. Tattoos can allow a teen to be like his peers or simply to make an artistic statement.
DEAR DOCTOR K: I hurt my toe and now the nail has turned black. What can I do?
DEAR READER: Ouch -- I've been there. A couple of years ago I was outdoors and turned around to walk in the opposite direction, and boom! My big toe hit a lamppost. At least my toe got there before my face did. A day or two later the toenail was black and blue, and the day after that it hurt a lot. What I had, and what you probably have, is blood under the nail, a condition called subungual hematoma.
DEAR READERS: Yesterday, I devoted the column to answering your questions and comments about my statements in past columns. I'm doing the same today. In a recent column I talked about the benefits and risks of drinking milk, for both kids and adults. I was talking about cow's milk, the kind we typically drink.
DEAR DOCTOR K: I have a keloid on my shoulder that makes me very self-conscious. Are there treatments other than surgery?
DEAR READER: Keloids are raised overgrowths of scar tissue that usually appear at the site of a skin injury. They are harmless and do not become cancerous. But once a keloid develops, it won't go away unless it is removed or treated. Unfortunately, none of the existing treatments give completely satisfying results. What's more, keloids that have been removed or treated often return.
DEAR DOCTOR K: My daughter picked up scabies at her day care center. How should I treat it? And what can I do to make sure she doesn't get infected again?
DEAR READER: Scabies is a skin infestation by tiny, parasitic insects called mites. It causes intense itching. When a person catches scabies, female mites lay eggs in the person's skin. The eggs hatch, mate and lay more eggs, continuing the cycle.
DEAR DOCTOR K: I was a sun worshipper in my teens. Now, in my 60s, my skin is paying for it. Is it possible to reverse signs of sun damage?
DEAR READER: The answer is yes. That's not only good news for you; it's also good news for me. I was raised in Los Angeles and spent nearly every weekend of my youth on the beach -- without sunscreen. When we were young, we thought that having a tan made us look healthier and more attractive. We still think that. But we didn't know then, as we do now, the toll that excess sun exposure takes: wrinkles, sun spots and potentially deadly skin cancers.
DEAR DOCTOR K: I have a painful boil on my thigh. Can I treat it at home?
DEAR READER: Yes, you can, unless it's an unusually large boil (called a carbuncle). Boils and carbuncles are skin infections that form pus-filled pockets in the skin. Pus is a fluid that contains bacteria, dead skin cells and infection-fighting white blood cells.
DEAR DOCTOR K: My fingernails chip and split a lot. Is there anything I can do to make them stronger? I've heard eating gelatin can help.
DEAR READER: Misconceptions about fingernails are common, and so are remedies claiming to make your nails better. But like it or not, there's relatively little you can do to change the overall health of your nails.
DEAR DOCTOR K: I'm a woman, but I have so much hair on my face that I look like I have a mustache and beard. Please help!
DEAR READER: The condition you have, called hirsutism, is not uncommon and can be treated. Why does hair grow so extensively on a man's face? Each hair grows out of a little pit in the skin called a follicle. Cells that live in the base of that pit cause the hair to form when androgens ("male" hormones) in the blood reach those cells.
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Dr. Anthony Komaroff is a practicing physician, Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, and Editor in Chief of Harvard Health Publications. Learn more »
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