Dr Colin Theng

With depressed scars, there are many treatment options now. You can do fat deposition or fractional lasers. Scarring will improve by 30-35% but it is very hard to get smooth skin again. The important thing is to treat early to prevent scarring.

Skin type is very largely dependent on genetics. Some people are born with very good skin, some with acne-prone skin and some with very dry skin. Of course, environmental factors can also influence your skin type. If you are constantly using lots of products which are very harsh, or frequently washing your face that your skin becomes very dry and irritated, that can also affect the skin type.

If you generally have oily skin type, it is difficult to change environmental factors to decrease oil production as it is a natural tendency for you to produce oil. You can wash your face frequently to reduce the oiliness. There are aslso certain medical treatments you undergo to decrease the oiliness. One of the famous drugs is called isotretinoin, which is excellent in contolling oiliness. However, it is very difficult to decrease oiliness through lifestyle choices.

It is important to understand what is the cause of pigmentation. Very often, people get freckles or sunspots due to excessive sun exposure. This is accumulated throughout your lifetime from when you are a child to adulthood. The more sunlight you are exposed to, the higher your chances are of getting sunspots. Other types of pigmentation such as melasma could be due to hormones. Pigmentation can occur post acne as well.

In general, isotretinoin is one of the drugs with a better holding power because when you discontinue, the risk of acne coming back is generally lower than oral antibiotics. 20-30% of people usually get persistent acne throughout their life, so they still need to get treatment, even in adulthood.

Acne is a very common problem type that affects majority. Acne usually develops during the pubertal years due to hormonal production, increasing oil production on the skin. The pores of the skin tend to clog up and due to bacterial growth over these oily areas, you can develop acne. The different forms of acne include: comedonal acne, which are small pimples like whiteheads and blackheads inflammatory acne, which are usually very red and inflamed with pimple bumps known as inflamed papilla deeper cysts called cystic acne.

Invariably, the skin and lips will get dry. Sometimes it can affect the liver and cholesterol, so you may need to do a blood test before and after to ensure that you are safe. The biggest problem is that it can affect fetuses, hence it is important to reinforce to women to not get pregnant while consuming Accutane. It can also affect the mood and cause depression but it is very rare. However, it is a very effective drug for acne treatment and many people who consume it get very good control of acne.

There are many different skin types. This includes: normal dry oily combination skin type. Some people have very sensitive skin and how you manage your skin depends on a lot on your skin type. For example, if someone has very oily skin type, they are more likely to suffer from acne related problems because acne is associated with oily skin. This is because the pores get clogged and this increases the risk of developing acne.

Thank you for the question. There are various treatments for viral wart. Topical salicylic lotions or ointments can be used to treat viral warts. Other commonly used treatment options include liquid nitrogen therapy or cryotherapy. A few treatments, spaced 1 to 2 weekly may be required. On the other hand there are also treatment options that include electrosurgical or laser ablation of the wart. Topical treatments such as imiquimod cream can also be used for wart treatment.

Thank you for the question. You may have developed a contact dermatitis to the application of the brigthening essence. This may be due to irritation or allergy to the essence. It is important to stop using the product to prevent further aggravation of the rash. Use a gentle cleanser to wash the face and moisturize the face with a gentle moisturizer. Avoid using harsh products on the skin as this may further worsen the rash. If the rash is very bad, you may wish to see your doctor or dermatologist for further assessment.

There are many possible causes for lip pigmentation. Theses include post inflammatory hyperpigmentation, contact dermatitis and inflammatory skin conditions. It is best for you to see a doctor so that a proper history and examination can be done for a more accurate diagnosis. In some cases, a skin biopsy may be needed to confirm the diagnosis.

Thank you for the question. Unfortunately, I think the picture is not clear enough for a proper assessment. In general, if the bump is due to a pimple, it will come and go and is not usually persistent. A cyst or a malignant growth is usually persistent and may slowly increase in size. It is best for you to see your doctor for a proper assessment if the bump is persistent.

For hair loss, the need for test depends on the underlying cause of the hair loss. For male pattern hair loss, this is usually a clinical diagnosis based on the history and pattern of hair loss and blood tests are not usually necessary. For other causes of hair loss, like telogen effluvium, where there is increase in the shedding of hair, blood tests like: full blood count thyroid function test iron levels autoimmune screens These are sometimes done to rule out any underlying cause of the hair loss.

Eczema is an inflammation of the skin and often presents with red, itchy rashes on the skin. There are various types of eczema and these include atopic eczema, discoid eczema, seborrhoiec dermatitis and asteatotic eczema. Contact dermatitis is also a form of eczema. In contact dermatitis, the eczema is due to exposure of skin to a substance that causes either an irritant or allergic reaction, resulting in an eczema. The history of what was applied to skin and the subsequent development of a rash is important to determine if the rash is due to a contact dermatitis.

Accutane or isotretinoin is a very good treatment for acne. Isotretinoin treatment generally has a lower relapse risk compared with other treatments like oral antibiotics. However, many patients do still relapse after a course of oral isotretinoin. It is usually safe to go for repeated course of isotretinoin if acne recurs or relapses. It is important to continue close monitoring and repeated blood tests to check on the liver function test and lipids level may be required. Women on isotretinoin should continue to strictly avoid getting pregnant while on the medication.