DermHelpCentral

Medihoney

Over the past few months, we have been hearing about the use of MediHoney for chronic wounds.  In dermatology, we frequently use cautery for certain lesions and this leaves superficial wounds which can take a while to heal.  We usually recommend simple Vaseline to keep the wound moist; however, for certain wounds MediHoney may be preferable.  This could just be "hype," but medical grade honey may actually be of value; and there is no downside to using it.  Your doctor may recommend it, or you may just want to try it yourself since it is safe and there are few contraindications.

MediHoney Guide: 

Health Care Apps Offer Patients an Active Role

This is a NY Times Business Day article about new cell-phone apps that are directed at consumers.  It discusses otoscopes, devices for heart monitoring, and some dermatologic uses.

See:  Health Care Apps. (April 26, 2014)

There are other pages on Teledermatology at this site.

Related articles

Teledermatology Forms

Digital Mucous Cyst

 

photo from Dermnet

Digital mucous cysts are solitary, clear, or flesh-colored nodules that develop on the dorsal digits between the distal interphalangeal joint and the proximal nail fold. There are two types of digital mucous cysts: one type is associated with degenerative changes in the distal interphalangeal joint, and the second type is independent of the joint and arises from metabolic derangement of fibroblasts that produce large quantities of hyaluronic acid. The two types are clinically indistinguishable. The cysts can be asymptomatic, or they can cause pain, tenderness, or deformity of the nail. Aggressive surgical techniques to remove osteophytes from the joint can produce low recurrence rates. Other procedures to eliminate cysts, such as a simple surgical technique, cryosurgical destruction, or repeated needling, can be performed in an office setting.  Read full text review.

Our favorite approach is repeated puncture or needling.  Cure rates of up to 70 percent have been reported following repeated puncture and expression of cyst contents.  Clear, jelly-like content, sometimes admixed with blood, squeezed from the cyst confirms the diagnosis. Puncture can be repeated with a sterile 20 – 25 gauge needle when the cyst becomes noticeable. We prefer puncturing the cyst with a # 11 surgical blade and teach patients how to perform this. Typically, a minimum of two to five punctures are needed for resolution of the cyst to occur.  The advantage of this technique is that it does not need an office visit.

For background information about digital mucous cysts see DermNet.

Needling Reference:
A simple technique for managing digital mucous cysts. Epstein E. Arch Dermatol. 1979 115:1315-6.

 

Younger Skin Through Exercise

By Gretchen Reynolds 
NY Times,  April 16, 2014

Exercise not only appears to keep skin younger, it may also even reverse skin aging in people who start exercising late in life, according to surprising new research.  Read Full Article.

This is an interesting article.  Exercise does not appear to reverse the effects of photo aging, however.  The key researcher in this work is Dr. Mark Tarnopolsky of Mcmaster Medical School, in Ontario, Canada.  His group has done a lot of research on the effects of exercise on muscle, bone, skin and other organ systems.