Participants: Nick Evenson (Host), Dr. James Marcum
Series Code: UP
Program Code: UP000070B
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00:01 Welcome back! Today, we are talking about
00:02 the skin - one of our most important organs, 00:04 and, Dr. Marcum, we're about to answer some questions on skin. 00:07 And our first question is: "What does the skin actually do, 00:10 and what type of doctor treats the skin?" 00:12 Yeah, well we touched on that a little bit about 00:14 what the skin does and one thing is that it's a barrier 00:18 and it sort of protects us from our environment. Okay 00:22 You've probably heard the term, "Do you have thick skin?" 00:25 Well thick skin helps protect from the environment 00:28 and a lot of people also realize that, you know, 00:31 hair growing out of skin, that still counts as skin too... 00:34 So that hair growing out of skin counts, the nails, 00:36 that sort of all counts as skin too. 00:38 But one of the most important functions of the skin 00:41 is to protect us from the environment. 00:43 It can protect us from infections. 00:46 And a lot of times infections are spread 00:49 from person-to-person and we want to keep the skin healthy 00:53 and intact. 00:55 We know that when skin is cut or the barriers in skin 00:58 are broken, then all of a sudden we have access 01:01 to the bloodstream. 01:02 So you can get an infection in the bloodstream, 01:04 and it can spread very quickly. 01:07 So first and foremost, the skin is a barrier 01:09 to help our protection. 01:11 The skin also helps in heat regulation. 01:14 You know, keeps us warm, keeps us cold. 01:16 Everyone knows when you get out in the cold, 01:19 what does the skin do? 01:20 You shiver - you shiver! That's right 01:22 Because you want to keep the temperature in. Right 01:24 If you don't keep the temperature in, 01:26 bad things happen. 01:28 When you stop shivering, there's a problem. Right! 01:30 You don't want to get too cold. Right 01:32 Too cold is not good for the body. 01:34 I personally do not like cold weather. 01:36 I will do anything to keep warm. Sure 01:38 I put coats, sweaters, anything, 01:40 I'm just not a cold-weather person, Nick. 01:42 Another thing that the skin does is... 01:44 If you're out in the heat - what does the skin do? 01:46 Then it lets out heat to keep your cool down. 01:50 You know, you lose fluid, it evaporates, 01:52 so it helps regulate your temperature. 01:55 It helps protect you. 01:56 Those are some of the two most 01:59 important functions of the skin. 02:02 In fact, a lot of people don't realize that an 02:04 average person can sweat about 3 gallons a day. 02:09 Okay, 3 gallons a day. Really? Wow! 02:10 Yeah, you look at your pets and that's how they lose the fluid, 02:15 but that's quite a bit... I mean 3 gallons a day, 02:18 that sounds like a lot - I'm going to have to check on that. 02:20 But it might be - I'll have to check, 02:22 but it might have been 3 quarts a day. 02:23 But basically, we lose a lot of fluid from our skin. Right 02:26 Remind me to check on that one, that sounded like a lot. 02:28 I'll do that! I don't know which. 02:30 Now the doctor, that's important. 02:31 Now how do you know if you have a skin problem 02:34 that needs a doctor? Yeah right 02:35 Well almost everyone out there, at some point, 02:38 they've had a funny rash on them. 02:40 And it behooves everyone to understand 02:44 what's an important rash and what's not an important rash. 02:47 The specialist in that is called, "dermatologist," 02:50 skin - derm - dermatologist, a specialist in skin. 02:53 So all they do is they are a specialist in looking at 02:56 all the different conditions and rashes that come with the skin. 02:59 Then when you go to them, they look at it, 03:01 and most of the time a great dermatologist has seen 03:04 everything - they know what it is and what to do immediately. 03:07 So if you ever have a skin condition that won't go away, 03:11 that's a major issue, then a dermatologist 03:14 is the person to go to. 03:16 You have conditions like psoriasis and eczema 03:20 that we see - those are type of skin conditions 03:22 that people go to. 03:23 Moles and things that are turning colors, growing, 03:27 that's a place to see a dermatologist. 03:29 There are some types of infections 03:31 that get on the skin. 03:33 We've seen fungal infections where you have itches 03:37 and you scratch it a lot and it's not an exposure, 03:40 it's just a fungus that's there. Right 03:43 And you would treat that with an antifungal. 03:45 We talked about this here... This is a steroid 03:48 cream and this would be good for just a local inflammation. 03:52 But you wouldn't want to put this on a fungus infection... 03:55 You would want an antifungal. Okay 03:57 Yeah, something that would get at the cause of the problem. 04:00 And the skin is like any other organ that we've talked about, 04:03 or any organ system because you want to get at the cause, 04:06 and use medicines to sort of get you over the hump. 04:09 So the first thing in these skin conditions is go to 04:13 somebody that can identify what it is - if you don't know it. 04:16 Now there are sometimes you can have a condition 04:18 that's very common called, "contact dermatitis." 04:22 That's where you're in contact with something that irritates 04:25 your skin and it causes inflammation. 04:28 This steroid cream would be very good for that inflammation 04:31 because of the inflammatory response that comes by 04:37 what would do with clothes, 04:40 a different cleaner might do it. 04:42 Some people might have something that blows on their skin 04:45 that could irritate it. Right 04:47 All sorts of things can cause it. 04:48 You know, if you wear clothes that are too tight 04:51 for long periods of time, 04:52 sometimes that can cause irritation 04:54 and a rash and irritation. Yes 04:55 So lots of things, but what I want to advise people, 04:57 if you have something that will not go away, 05:00 it's there a long time, something that's changing 05:03 that you need help with right away or if you have a rash 05:07 and other symptoms - that's the time to get help right away 05:10 because sometimes, like we said, a rash could be a sign 05:13 of a condition like "lupus," could be a sign of an other 05:16 medical condition and, of course, the most serious 05:18 thing we think of is... is this a sign of a skin cancer? 05:22 Now we know that water is very important to our skin. YES! 05:25 Both to drink water and also to wash with water. 05:28 What makes our skin smelly sometimes? 05:30 Yeah, well, the skin gets smelly 05:33 because of the bacteria in the skin. 05:37 The skin constantly sort of secretes this greasy stuff, 05:42 and bacteria love warm, moist, dark places, 05:45 that's where they like to grow. 05:46 So if something is warm, moist and dark 05:48 over long periods of time whether it be under the 05:50 underarms or in creases of skin, and especially if 05:54 it's moist - that's when bacteria start to grow, 05:58 and that's why it's so important to stay clean. Yeah 06:01 And remember, water is good for the inside, 06:04 but it's also good for the outside. 06:05 We want to keep those parts of us clean, 06:07 and we also want to keep those parts of us 06:10 you know, we want them dry, because if it gets 06:14 moist over long periods of time, that's a place where 06:16 bacteria, fungus and things like that can sort of grow 06:19 and take over. 06:21 So warm, moist - not good for the skin. 06:23 Dry - really good for the skin. 06:26 And we also know that sunlight is an important thing for us, 06:29 but what about sunscreen? 06:30 Who should wear sunscreen and how long should 06:33 we worry about sun exposure? 06:34 Well this is very interesting, Nick, is that for many years 06:39 in the history of the earth, people have been exposed 06:42 to the sun, and 500 years ago, they didn't have sunscreen. 06:48 Did those people do poorly? I don't know. 06:51 But what the dangerous thing is about the skin is when 06:54 it's prolonged exposure to the rays. 06:57 And what it does is, it damages the skin, 07:00 and then people get sunburn. 07:01 So sunburn is not good and now for those that like to lie 07:05 in tanning beds, we found out that tanning beds 07:08 isn't so good for the skin. 07:10 But it is good for the skin to get out and get some sun, 07:13 and get some color as long as you don't burn. 07:16 And, we've recommended that at least you would be out 07:19 in the sun at least 30 minutes 3 times a day, 07:21 but we don't want to burn. 07:22 And people that have long sun exposure, 07:25 that's not healthy either, so let's say you're a lifeguard, 07:29 now you used to go out and ski a lot, right? 07:31 Yeah, I used to teach kids in summer camp 07:33 how to water ski. Now I have a question... 07:34 Your skin was exposed for pretty long periods of time. Yeah 07:38 Unfortunately probably too long. 07:40 Did you brown or burn? 07:42 The first part of the season, I might burn once or twice, 07:45 but then I'd brown pretty well after that. 07:47 So, you might be one, if you're going to be out 07:49 for long periods of time, you want to protect your skin, 07:52 not so much for the acute event, but for 20 years down the road.. 07:56 Because you damage your skin when you're young, 07:58 then when you're older a couple of things happen. 08:00 One is that you're at a higher risk of cancer. 08:03 Two, premature aging. 08:05 You know, too much burning of the skin causes wrinkles 08:08 and damages the skin in that way. 08:10 So a person like that would benefit from being on 08:12 a sunscreen - you know, one of the SP sunscreens, 08:15 and they have different strengths that block the sun. 08:18 And so a person like that... For instance, I know marathon 08:22 runners that are fair-skinned... 08:24 They're going to be out running all day. 08:26 Well those are people that might benefit from being on 08:29 a sunscreen to help block the sun, so when they're 08:32 not running 6 or 8 hours into the race, 08:34 then they get a sun burn and they have lots of pain 08:38 to go with everything else. 08:39 But I find if people will take care of their skin, 08:42 and be smart about how they get out and just gradually 08:45 build up, then the pigment will be able to accept 08:48 that without burning. 08:49 Now tell me, how can I tell if a discoloration on my skin 08:54 is cancer? 08:55 Well, sometimes it's hard to tell exactly if it's cancer, 08:59 but there's a couple of characteristics of skin cancer 09:02 that people should be aware of. 09:05 So if you look a mole... 09:07 A fancy name for mole is called a "nevi," 09:10 and I'm looking to see if I have a mole here on my skin that's.. 09:14 I've got some normal moles, but if you look at a mole, 09:17 and it's starting to change colors, it's turning blue 09:21 or it's getting hair growing out of it, 09:24 that's one sign that's not good. 09:26 It becomes crusty - it starts bleeding - that's not good! 09:31 If it has a change in the contour, that's not good. 09:35 Or anytime you just have something that comes up 09:38 that used to not be there and it's changing quickly, 09:41 and it is growing quickly. 09:43 Well that's one that, if I were you, I would go to the 09:46 dermatologist and when you go to the dermatologist, 09:49 he'll look at it and say, "Oh, that could be a skin cancer, 09:51 let's do a biopsy and there's a simple procedure where they do 09:55 what they call a "punch biopsy," where they take it out, 09:58 they look at it under the microscope. 10:00 If it is a skin cancer, they can determine what it is 10:03 and make sure the margins and all cancer is gone. 10:06 They can do it right there that is called a "Mohs" procedure. 10:09 So very skilled doctors can continue making sure the cancer 10:12 is resected. 10:14 They can tell you if it is cancer. 10:16 They can also say, "Well this is just "seborrheic dermatitis" 10:19 or something that's not serious. 10:20 Or this is just a routine nevi 10:23 that doesn't need to be worried about. 10:25 So a dermatologist is the best to do that, 10:26 and sometimes people have moles 10:28 that are irritating on their skin that causes bleeding 10:31 and we see that in people that have clothes that are 10:34 in bad positions and it keeps rubbing on a mole 10:37 or nevi and they could take that away with 10:40 numerous ways even with cold. 10:42 They can get a cold-pack type thing, 10:44 they can get those moles gone so it doesn't bother you. 10:47 So getting back to your question... 10:48 If it's changing colors, if it's growing, 10:50 if it's bleeding, if it looks ugly or just 10:52 doesn't look right to you, get some help. 10:54 Now that's another good point... 10:56 You cannot see all your skin surface, can you, Nick? 10:58 No, I sure can't. 10:59 I can't see behind me, I don't have... 11:01 So you should occasionally have someone 11:03 look at your entire skin. 11:06 And that includes the scalp which is not 11:08 looked at very much, the skin behind the ears, 11:11 the skin in the back, the skin all over your body, 11:13 just to make sure you don't have a suspicious mole growing. 11:18 It's recommended that at certain ages that we have a 11:21 complete skin exam by a doctor. 11:24 And I don't know, most people have never had their entire 11:27 skin surface looked at, but I think that it's a very 11:31 good thing to do occasionally 11:32 so you can keep track of it... 11:35 I've known a few people that have melanoma. 11:37 That's the most serious skin cancer that exists, 11:40 and if a melanoma has spread and is not detected early, 11:44 that is very fatal and a very dangerous form of skin cancer. 11:48 So I want to advise everyone that's watching there 11:50 if you have a funny spot, have a dermatologist 11:53 or your doctor take a look at it. 11:54 Have your spouse, friend, loved one or someone that you like 11:57 a lot look at the back part of your body, 11:59 the parts of your body that you can't see, 12:01 to make sure that you don't have a suspicious mole growing 12:03 that might be a cancer. That's a good idea. 12:06 And you mentioned the scalp earlier and we have another 12:08 question that has come in from a viewer that asks: 12:10 "Is balding caused by bad skin?" 12:13 Balding caused by bad skin. 12:15 Well, I looked into that a little bit because I was 12:18 going to get one of those balding... 12:20 You know, I'm losing a few, in my hair and I was wondering 12:23 if I should get one of those special creams to do, 12:26 you know, wanted to do that. Sure 12:27 Well, it's not due to bad skin, but it's due to 12:31 mainly it's a genetic thing for most of us. 12:34 Now there are certain medical conditions that cause balding, 12:36 you know, thyroid disease and certain things like that, 12:40 but most males with male pattern balding 12:42 is a genetic thing and unfortunately 12:46 there's a lot of hair care products out there 12:48 for alopecia and most of them don't help a lot. 12:51 But what does seem to help is to get more blood flow 12:55 to the skin. Right 12:57 That seems to help the skin out quite a bit. 12:59 So in the products that seem to help, 13:01 if you're losing hair, one thing that might help 13:04 is to rub the part of the body that's losing hair 13:07 and it can grow - it can get more blood supply to it... 13:11 That might help retard it if it's genetics. 13:14 You know what I don't understand, Nick, is I'm losing 13:16 more hair on my head, but I'm growing 13:19 more hair in other parts of my body including my ears! 13:23 You know, that's crazy - my ears and my nose, 13:25 plenty of hair there but up here it's going away! 13:28 But it's not really a systemic skin condition, 13:30 it's more of a genetic condition. 13:32 We've got another viewer who asks: 13:34 "My skin is dry, what should I do?" 13:36 How do you work with dry skin? 13:37 Dry skin, let me drink a glass of water here... 13:41 That's one of the most common skin problems we have 13:44 is dry skin. 13:46 When the skin gets dry, the problem is 13:48 that people start itching it and they rub it, 13:51 and before long, it gets inflamed and it gets sort of 13:54 like what we call, "dermatitis," and then all of a sudden 13:58 sometimes people rub it so much that the skin breaks. 14:01 And then when the skin breaks, because there's bacteria 14:04 on the skin, you're subject to infections. 14:06 So dry skin is a fairly serious problem. 14:09 The first thing that I think the most important thing for 14:12 dry skin is: (a) Drink more water. 14:14 Make sure you're very, very, very well-hydrated. 14:19 That's very important. 14:20 Some people that take hot showers sometimes 14:23 can have problems with dry skin. 14:25 And there are certain parts of the body that are more 14:27 prone to dry skin. 14:29 Down where the socks are, that area, tends to be 14:32 more prone to dry skin and in parts of the skin that are 14:35 very dry, in addition to drinking water, 14:38 there are also some very good products that are out there 14:41 that help moisturize the skin and that can help 14:44 moisturize the skin. 14:46 I use one called "Eucerin Cream," but there are 14:51 also other different types of moisturizers 14:54 that work as well and your pharmacist or dermatologist 14:58 will lead you in that direction. 15:00 Dry skin, especially in the cold in the winter, 15:04 it's very important as people have more dry skin. 15:07 And the real danger is if you don't get that taken care of, 15:10 it can lead to other problems. Right 15:13 I don't like dry skin. Right! 15:14 We've got another question: "What about acne?" 15:16 "I'm a very self-conscious, 18-year-old, I need help." 15:20 What do we do about acne? 15:22 Well acne is a very big problem and it's bacteria on the skin, 15:26 lots of hormones and things going on in kids. 15:28 We see it flare up a lot, but, you know, I was 15:31 reading a recent study - I do a lot of work with nutritionists 15:36 and Dr. Greger is one of the nutritionists I work with, 15:39 he's a doctor that studies that and he found 15:41 out that if guys and gals and that would just go 15:45 to a whole food, plant-based diet and get all that 15:51 garbage food out of them, that's something that really 15:53 helps in the development of acne. 15:56 Now if it goes beyond that, of course, there are 15:59 creams that can be used. 16:00 In severe cases, they give some antibiotics, 16:02 but I want to tell those that are fighting with acne 16:05 right now - try going to a whole food, plant-based diet, 16:10 and see if that won't really help turn the acne around. 16:13 Everyone that I've seen that's gone on a strict diet like that 16:16 has had dramatic improvements in their skin. 16:19 In fact, everyone that wants to have healthier skin, 16:22 that's something they can do. 16:24 One of the things that that type of diet does is it 16:27 removes fat and protein and all these other junk 16:30 that our skin gets - it can remove that, 16:33 and the other thing it does is it helps our blood vessels 16:35 of our skin become healthier and get a healthier blood supply. 16:39 So people that eat a healthy diet, lots of whole foods, 16:42 lots of real foods, gets a better blood supply; 16:45 they look more alive; they're more dynamic; 16:47 they have a better blood supply; 16:49 their skin just works better and functions better. 16:51 It's something that's underestimated in the care of 16:55 the skin is our nutrition, so I want everyone to 16:58 eat that whole food, plant-based diet. 17:00 We'll do that and we'll drink some water and try 17:02 and stay out of the sun. We'll do that. 17:05 We hope this has been beneficial for you at home. 17:07 Stay tuned, Dr. Marcum is going to lead us 17:08 in prayer in just a moment. 17:15 We've been learning about the skin today and I want to just 17:18 take some time to pray for each one of you. 17:20 Father God, Please help all of our 17:22 viewers who are watching today. 17:24 We want to help them to be healthier and to 17:26 come into a close relationship with you and continue to 17:29 take great care of their body. 17:31 This is our prayer... Amen 17:32 I want to thank you for joining us on "Ultimate Prescription" 17:37 Go to our website: heartwiseministries.org 17:39 if you have more questions. 17:41 Until next time, I'm Dr. James Marcum |
Revised 2016-06-29