Dr. Sudhir S Dikshit

The skin is the largest organ of protection and defense. The skin plays an important role in the elimination of toxins and can assist the kidneys in their work. If there is a buildup of toxins in the body, the skin will try to help in removing them. The skin tries to help to eliminate the toxins out as skin rashes or skin conditions.

Every day we are exposed to toxins in our air, water, food and personal products. Examples of these chemicals are pesticides (in our food, lawns and parks), solvents (in gasoline, paints and cleaning products) and plastic chemicals (such as BPA and phthalates). We can do our best to live free of these substances, but some are unavoidable. Eating reactive foods leads to inflammation, which can lead to a number of symptoms and diseases, including chronic skin problems such as acne and eczema. Signs of toxicity that appear in the skin include acne, boils, rashes, inflammation, etc.

Your body needs to get rid of the waste products somehow. Some of these wastes can be excreted through the skin, such as urea, water, uric acid and ammonia. This helps rid your body of the things that might make you sick if your skin didn’t serve as a gateway to the outside.

Causative factors of skin diseases:

Skin diseases are the expression of toxins accumulation in the body. This toxin accumulation can cause by,

1. Stress
2. Food with chemicals like pesticides, preservatives, processed food
3. Exposure to chemicals through soaps, shampoos, phenyl
4. Exposure to radiation
5. Exposure to pollution – water, air and food
6. Uses of plastic materials

Skin being the largest organ in the human body, presents many diseases. In fact, skin is the reflection of what is happening inside the body. Most of the internal systems and organs in the body when get affected or dis-eased because of accumulation of toxins, they show their effects in the form of skin diseases, in various forms.

Skin Conditions

1. Rash: Nearly any change in the skin’s appearance can be called a rash. Most rashes are from simple skin irritation; others result from medical conditions.
2. Dermatitis: A general term for inflammation of the skin. Atopic dermatitis (a type of eczema) is the most common form.
3. Eczema: Skin inflammation (dermatitis) causing an itchy rash. Most often, it’s due to an overactive immune system.
4. Psoriasis: An autoimmune condition that can cause a variety of skin rashes. Silver, scaly plaques on the skin are the most common form.
5. Dandruff: A scaly condition of the scalp may be caused by seborrheic dermatitis, psoriasis, or eczema.
6. Acne: The most common skin condition, acne affects over 85% of people at some time in life.
7. Cellulitis: Inflammation of the dermis and subcutaneous tissues, usually due to an infection. A red, warm, often painful skin rash generally results.
8. Abscess (boil or furuncle): A localized skin infection creates a collection of pus under the skin.
9. Warts: A virus infects the skin and causes the skin to grow excessively, creating a wart.
10. Melanoma: The most dangerous type of skin cancer, melanoma results from sun damage and other causes. A skin biopsy can identify melanoma.
11. Basal cell carcinoma: The most common type of skin cancer. Basal cell carcinoma is less dangerous than melanoma because it grows and spreads more slowly.
12. Squamous cell carcinoma: A common form of skin cancer, squamous cell carcinoma may begin as an ulcer that won’t heal, or an abnormal growth. It usually develops in sun-exposed areas.
13. Herpes: The herpes viruses HSV-1 and HSV-2 can cause periodic blisters or skin irritation around the lips or the genitals.
14. Hives: Raised, red, itchy patches on the skin that arise suddenly. Hives usually result from an allergic reaction.
15. Tinea vesicolor: A benign fungal skin infection creates pale areas of low pigmentation on the skin.
16. Shingles (herpes zoster): Caused by the chickenpox virus, shingles is a painful rash on one side of the body.
17. Scabies: Tiny mites that burrow into the skin cause scabies. An intensely itchy rash in the webs of fingers, wrists, elbows, and buttocks is typical of scabies.
18. Ringworms: A fungal skin infection (also called tinea). The characteristic rings it creates are not due to worms.
19. Skin Allergies – Reaction of body through the skin to some allergens like some food item, dust, sun etc

Homoeopathic Management:

Homoeopathic medicines make our body strong to relieve stress and to remove toxins from the body. Homeopathic remedies not only remove the complaint but also the tendency of the complaint to recur. Since the causes are internal, we need internal medicines. Applying ointments on skin problems may again push all toxins inside our body, which can result in disease of internal organs which is more harmful. Some examples of Homoeopathic remedies

• Hepetic eruptions all over the body – Dulcamara, psorinum, ran- b
• Fiery red rashes on the body – Aconite, belladonna, stramonium, sulphur
• Soft warts – Ant –crude, calc, nit-a, sil, thuja

Some lifestyle changes for skin ailments,

1. Drink lots of water to help body to remove toxins
2. Use lemon to remove toxins from body
3. Take 7 hours sleep to help the repair of our body
4. Do good amount of physical activities to remove toxins through increase in blood circulation and sweating
5. Practice some relaxation methods to manage the stress
6. Have lots of vegetables and fruits preferably organic
7. Wash all fruits and vegetables properly to remove pesticides
8. Avoid radiation and pollution as much as possible
9. Avoid chemical contacts through the skin and nose.

If you wish to discuss about any specific problem, you can consult online, on phone or in clinic.

One of the most common problems faced by ageing men is benign prostatic hypertrophy. Prostate is the gland at the base of the urethra near the bladder and when it enlarges it can lead to symptoms, mostly related to urination.

1. Frequent urge to pass urine
2. Prolonged urination
3. Frequent nocturnal visits to the toilet
4. Intermittent urination
5. Difficulty to start urinating
6. Inability to completely empty the bladder
7. Urinary tract infections

There are medications available to manage this, but offer only temporary relief. Many men therefore prefer to have the surgery undergone to manage these bothersome symptoms. However, like any surgery, the risks and benefits need to be considered along with other conditions like age, overall health status, other comorbid conditions, etc.

Surgical removal of the enlarged prostate gland is a more definitive approach to manage these symptoms. In addition to providing a quick cure, it also is used in the following cases:

1. Patients who do not respond to medications
2. Presence of blood in the urine
3. Associated bladder stones
4. Frequent infections of the urinary tract
5. Associated damage to the kidneys

Procedure of Surgery
During the procedure, a tube is passed through the tip of the penis into the urethra towards the bladder neck. Once it is in the desired position, laser is passed through it to deliver energy that acts on the prostate to either completely or partially destroy it. There are two methods by which laser acts on the enlarged prostate and making way for free flow of the urine.

1. Ablation: Excess prostate tissue is melted away by the laser by using photosensitive vaporization of the prostate. This is also known as Greenlight laser therapy or KTP laser vaporization. Alternately, Holmium can be used as the source of laser energy to ablate the prostate tissue.

2. Enucleation: Excess prostate tissue is cut and teased out through the urethra. Holmium laser is used to resect the prostate into smaller pieces, which are then removed out through a resectoscope. Another technique uses a tissue morcellator which grinds the enlarged prostate into smaller pieces to enable easy retrieval.

More men now opt for laser prostate removal as it has the following advantages:

1. Reduced risk of bleeding: This becomes essentially important in patients who are on blood thinners.
3. Immediate symptom relief: As compared to medications, the relief is felt almost immediately after the surgery
4. No catheter: With laser surgery, a catheter may be required for less than 24 hours unlike in open surgical cases.

As noted above, as with any surgery, once enlarged prostate symptoms set in, have a detailed discussion with your doctor to identify if you are a suitable candidate for laser surgery. If you wish to discuss about any specific problem, you can consult a Urologist.