COMMON MEDICINE

What is the best way to ease the pain of sunburn?

Mild sunburns can be treated with cool wet compresses for 10 to 15 minute periods three times daily. You might also try soaking in a tub of tepid or cool water for the same period of time. It’s a good idea to follow this treatment with an application of a moisturiser. Aspirin my help to relieve pain; topical anaesthetics such as benzocaine may help, too. For a more severe sunburn, call your doctor for specific treatment and advice.

Athlete’s foot is the most common fungus that troubles humans, although ringworms come in a close second. Look for a medication whose active ingredient is tolnaftate or clioquinol. Read the rest of this entry »

Acne is one of the most common of all skin disorders, particularly among adolescents. It affects almost everyone, whether in the form of a few pimples and blackheads or whiteheads, or with more severe lesions called cysts. Although most people outgrow the problem by adulthood, acne may appear and continue through the twenties, thirties and forties among otherwise healthy people. Women are more likely to have acne as adults; males tend to have more severe acne the age of 20. Read the rest of this entry »