Dr. Amutha Kumar Shanmuga

How a diet high in salt increases blood pressure:

• The amount of salt you eat has a direct effect on your blood pressure.
• Sodium plays a key role in balancing the levels of fluid in our bodies by signaling to the kidneys when to retain water and when to get rid of water. 
• When we eat too much salt, our bloodstream has more sodium in it than the surrounding areas of our body. This causes the water in those areas to be pulled into our bloodstream. 
• Thus salt makes your body hold on to water. If you eat too much salt, the extra water stored in your body raises your blood pressure. So, the more salt you eat, the higher your blood pressure.
• A high-sodium diet can interfere with this delicate process and reduce kidney function. The result is less water removed from the body, which may lead to higher blood pressure. 
• The higher your blood pressure, the greater the strain on your heart, arteries, kidneys. Overtime these extra strain can damage kidney an lead to kidney disease. 
• As this reduces kidney's ability to filter toxic waste products out of the body which gradually start building up in the body leading to kidney failure. 
• Also, eating too much salt may mean that blood pressure medicines (such as diuretics) don't work as well as they could.

So spice up your life with salt. But cautiously.

Acne Vulgaris, commonly known as acne is a type of chronic skin condition which occurs when the hair follicles of the skin become clogged with oil and dead skin cells. Characterized by blackheads, pimples, whiteheads and greasy skin, acne can also cause scarring. Typically, acne which cause pimples tend to develop on the back, chest, shoulders but mostly on the face and neck.

Causes and symptoms of pimple scars:

Although the actual cause of acne is uncertain, medical professionals have reason to believe that an increase in the level of androgen triggers pimples. On the other hand, scarring due to pimples are a result of the presence of inflamed lesions. Such inflamed lesions when gorged with surplus oil, bacteria and dead skin cells cause swelling and an eventual rupture in the follicle wall which leads to scarring. The extent of the scar has a direct relationship with the rupture. That is to say, the deeper the rupture, the bigger the scar.

In actuality, the formation of scars is involved in the normal healing process of the skin. The skin cells in order to mend the damage caused by the ruptured pimples, forms fresh collagen fibers which are fibrous proteins that impart flexibility and strength to the skin. The resultant repair which are very rarely smooth and unblemished are referred to as scars.

Treatment of pimple scars:

1. Fractional Radiofrequency treatment is a highly effective method of reducing or removing pimple scars from skin. The radio frequency does not cause much damage to upper layers of skin, but effectively breaks down the scar tissue.
2. Lasers are alternative and are little less painful. This treatment involves the use of skin resurfacing lasers.
3. Fillers are another form of treatment which fill the indentations left remaining from dense pimple scars. Hardly any down time with this but are expensive in the long run.
4. Scar reduction surgery is meant to minimize the scar so that it is more consistent with your surrounding skin tone and texture.

If you wish to discuss about any specific skin problem, you can consult a specilized dermatologist and ask a free question.