Common Skin Conditions: Skin Health
Content provided by the Faculty of the Harvard Medical School
Common skin conditions
Your skin becomes vulnerable to a number of conditions as you get older. Some are caused by hormonal shifts or occupational exposures. Others are caused by exposure to the elements, wear and tear on blood vessels, or infections. Dermatologists have a number of treatments available (see Table 1).
Table 1: Choosing the right treatment | |
| Condition | Treatments |
| Dry skin | Petroleum jelly, mineral oil, or moisturizing lotions applied immediately after bathing |
| Sun damage, photoaging, and related skin conditions, such as lines and wrinkles, sagging skin, liver spots, actinic keratosis, loose eyelid skin | Sunscreens and sun blocks, cryotherapy, topical creams for actinic keratosis, laser therapy, chemical peels, soft-tissue augmentation, botulinum toxin injections, microdermabrasion, surgery |
| Hair loss | Minoxidil, finasteride, hair transplantation, scalp reduction, scalp flap surgery, tissue expansion |
| Birthmarks, tattoos, growths | Laser surgery, surgical excision, cryosurgery, chemical peels |
| Cysts, moles | Surgical excision |
| Fat deposits | Aerobic exercise, liposuction |
| Scars resulting from acne or injury | Laser therapy, soft-tissue augmentation, dermabrasion, surgical scar revision, chemical peels |
| Skin cancers | Surgical excision, Mohs' micrographic surgery, laser surgery, cryosurgery, topical chemotherapy |
| Rosacea | Topical antibiotics and other topical medications and systemic antibiotics to reduce papules and pustules; laser or light treatments for red or dilated blood vessels |
| Spider veins and varicose veins | Laser therapy, sclerotherapy |
| Last updated: | July 20, 2007 |
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Medical content reviewed by the Faculty of the Harvard Medical School. Harvard Health Publications, Copyright © 2007 by President and Fellows of Harvard College. All rights reserved. Used with permission of StayWell.
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