Winter Woes: Your Skin is the First Victim!

Winter in the Middle East may not be very pleasing for many residence suffering from severe atopic . According to world renound Dr. Hassan al Abdullah, dermatology and venereology consultant at the Dr Hassan Al Abdullah Medical Centre Doha Qatar, eight out of ten children coming to the medical centre, mostly Nationals, suffer from atopic dermatitis or eczema.

He said the disease was mostly inherited and very common among children. Characterized by , atopic dermatitis, among adults, caused severe irritation, splitting, and cracking of the skin, especially in the eczema-affected portion. The cold dry air and low humidity brought about by winter added to the severity of the skin didermatitis or eczemaseases.

“The skin is very sensitive to dust and other environmental factors that might worsen the condition of the skin diseases. Atopic ddryness of skinermatitis, commonly known as eczema, is also associated with the other atopic conditions as bronchial asthma, allergic rhinitis and high fever,” the doctor said.

Dr Al Abdullah explained that cases of atopic dermatitis went up in the winter season due to the excessive dryness of skin. “That is why we advise parents to cover their children with proper winter clothes, preferably cotton ones. Woolen and nylon clothes may cause some allergies to the skin, which children cannot tolerate,” he said.

Elaborating on atopic dermatitis, Dr al Abdullah said even one-month-old infants might already have eczema. “Dry and itchy skin rashes can be found o children’s cheeks. Among adults, atopic dermatitis causes red, itchy rashes and in some cases discoloration of the skin, and dry, itchy patches in armpits and behind knees”.

“Sometimes, the red rashes disappear due to a change in environment. There have been cases when children went abroad and the marks of eczema just disappeared,” he said.
According to Dr al Abdullah, treatment depends on the nature of the cases. “We may give anti-histamine, steroids, moisturizers, and special soaps. We also advise families to avoid collecting dust by frequently cleaning curtains and carpets at home”.

On other skin problems affecting Doha residence this winter, Dr al Abdullah said, “Some expatriates, who have just arrived here and are facing acne problem can blame the sudden change in environment or even the winter season for this. But acne is common among the residence throughout the year. Stress is a major factor as expatriates worry too much about the wellbeing of their families, being away from home. Sometimes change in food habit can also be a factor”.

Other skin diseases which are prevalent in the winter, according to Dr al Abdullah, are psoriasis and vitiligo, affecting about 2 percent of the entire world population. He clarified that none of these skin diseases was infectious, adding that psoriasis became severe during winter due to low humidity.

Severe psoriasis, if ignored, could develop into psoriatic arthritis, causing a permanent joint deformity. While severe eczema, if left untreated, could result in a secondary bacterial infection and might cause painful cracks on skin, the doctor warned. “Those who keep woolen clothes in dresser for a year, must wash them first before wearing them in winter as the clothes may have some dust in them,” he said.

For lip care during winter, Dr al Abdullah advised the residence to use lipsticks or lip moisturizers. “Vaseline creams and other similar moisturizers are best for those who don’t want to spend too much on expensive cosmetic products,” he observed.

Fraxel Laser Treatment with Dr. Hassan Al-Abdulla

Dr. Hassan Al-Abdulla- A name that has been engraved through-out our society today, both women and men admire his work. Dr. Abdulla is a especialized consultant of dermatology and venereology who is holding an M.B.B.S. a Doctorate degree in dermatology and veneorology, an American fellowship in dermathopathology and cosmetic dermatology and member of the American and Asian society of anti-aging medicine.

We sat down with Dr. Abdulla to discuss a recent Treatment that is being introduced in his clinic in Qatar.

Dr. Hassan, tell us more about Fraxel Laser treatment.
Fraxel laser treatment was created with the many benefits of ablative and non-ablaive lasers, but without the downtime, side effects and recovery length. Fraxel is a unique approach to repairing dammaged skin pixel by pixel,spot by spot.Think of your skin as a digital photograph in need of high-quality restoration or touch up

Fraxel Laser treatment improves your appearance by affecting only fraction of your skin at a time with thousands of tiny microscopic laser spots eliminating old epidermal pigmented cell. Unlike old laser treatments that were used to peel the whole surface of the skin with a period of two weeks of no direct sunlight, Fraxel only peels danaged tisue of the surface of the skin leaving healthy tissues heal the rest while stimulating the inside tissues and the patient can go back to his normal lifestyle within the maximum of 3 days.

Who is considered to be an eligible candidate for this kind of treatment?
Everyone suffering from damaged skin and has the signs aging such as wrinkles,pots and lines, from skin pigmentation such as Melasma as well as any kind of scars; for instance acne scars or dilated pores and even sundamaged skin. It is a treatment for all ages and for both men and women.

How does Fraxel Laser treatment works?
Fraxel produces thousands of tiny but deep columns of treatment in your skin, known as micro thermal treatment zones. This treatment eliminates old epidermal pigemented cells. It also penetrates deep into the dermis.

Just as important, though, are the areas of skin the Fraxel laser leaves untouched. For every micro thermal zone the laser targets and treats intensively it leaves the surrounding tissues unaffected and intact.

This fractional treatment allows the skin to heal much faster than if the entire area were treated at once, using body's natural healing process to create new, healthy tighter tissue to replace skin imperfections.

Where, when and how is the treatment performed?
Fraxel laser treatment can be done at any time, under an appointment with me as it is performed at my clinic for about an hour and a half.
The treatment area will be thoroughly cleaned prior to the procedure. Next, topical anesthesia is applied. When the effect of the anethesia to takes place, treatment can be performed, which would last for around 30 minutes maximum.

Is there a certain precautions patients should follow before or after treatment in order to maintain results?
None exactly. Patients can go on with their daily routine, after treatment. Redness and swelling will appear depending on the skin type. The skin will have a pinkish tone for couple of days which is a good sign that skin is healing deeply.

Moisturizer and Sun screen should be used to mask the appearance of flaking and protect the new skin from UV exposure.

Women can apply their make-up and men could shave soon after treatment.

When does the result start to show?
New epidermal skin develops immediately within 24 hours, and over the following weeks and months, the body will keep repairing deeper dermal tissues that have been affected by Fraxel Laser Treatment, producing beneficial changes that continue to improve over the following 2 to 3 months.

Any side effects?
There are 100% no side effects to Fraxel Laser Treatment. None has been recorded up to date except for a few minor cases where patients don't follow the instructions given to them and when they sometimes try to peel the skin off themselves which can cause pigmentation that could simply be treated with fraxel.