The skin is important because it is the body’s first line of physical defense and it is also the largest organ of the body. There are thousands of different types of skin diseases, most of which are merely skin discomfort, but there are also more serious and even life-threatening skin diseases. For the elderly, as they age, the physiological structure of the skin will gradually deteriorate, and the barrier barrier and other physiological functions will gradually diminish, while there are also some external factors that cause damage over time, such as sunlight and ultraviolet radiation over the years. The combination of these factors has led to several characteristics of dermatological diseases in the elderly: multiple diseases, long duration, persistent symptoms, high percentage of tumors, and many complications, which also include the safety of medication due to the decline of various functions in the elderly. Compared to the cosmetic needs of skin rejuvenation, some of the geriatric skin diseases that plague the daily lives of the elderly have received relatively little attention, which really needs more attention and focus. Some of the common dermatological diseases of the elderly include pruritus, dermatitis eczema, herpes zoster, superficial fungal diseases, photoaging, skin precancer and skin cancer. Some of the most common degenerative skin changes in the elderly are listed here, such as senile hemangioma, a small hemispherical bright red tumor the size of a grain of rice, which also occurs in some young people and is known as cherry-like hemangioma, but in fact these two names are the same condition. Geriatric hemangiomas do not affect health and usually do not require treatment. If the tumors are large and numerous, physical methods such as pulsed laser or freezing or electrocoagulation can be chosen to remove them. Another example is senile leukoplakia, which is manifested as white spots on the skin with a diameter of millet to green bean size, which is completely different from vitiligo, it neither expands nor fades, also known as idiopathic punctate leukoplakia, and also does not require treatment. The actual fact is that you can find a lot of people who are not able to get a good deal on a lot of things. Of course, not all skin diseases of the elderly can be taken lightly, some skin diseases may even be life-threatening in serious cases if left untreated. Seborrheic keratosis, also known as senile plaques, is a very common benign skin tumor that manifests as brown or black patches with a slow course and does not heal over the years. However, if the number suddenly increases in a short period of time, it mostly suggests intestinal tumor. Varicose veins of lower extremities are large blood vessel problems, and in serious cases, bruised eczema and ulcers will occur on the skin of lower extremities, and once ulcers appear, treatment will be very difficult, so early diagnosis and treatment are needed. Do not enter into the misunderstanding of elderly skin disease Misunderstanding one: listening to native prescriptions, experimental prescriptions or oral tradition As the saying goes, “the disease is urgent and disorderly doctor”, in the elderly skin disease patients, some people tend to listen to native prescriptions, experimental prescriptions or other oral recipes, in the case of self-treatment without the guidance of specialist physicians, the results instead delayed the disease. Here is an example. A patient with shingles came to Professor Wang for treatment. A look at the patient’s legs, in addition to the dense distribution of small blisters, there is a regular red circles, connected to a long strip. The patient was told to use a bottle cap with red ink to knock on the skin to “ring” the herpes zoster, so he did the same. The result is not only that herpes zoster is not half better, but also that the best time to treat it is missed. Herpes zoster is caused by the varicella-zoster virus and is characterized by clusters of small blisters distributed along unilateral peripheral nerves, often accompanied by significant neuralgia. Shingles is best treated within three days, and once the best time for treatment is missed, painful sequelae are easily left behind, and in some patients the pain can even last for months, seriously affecting the quality of life. Therefore, once shingles occurs, it is important to visit a specialist and receive regular treatment as soon as possible. The initial symptoms of shingles vary, some patients send out blisters first and then develop pain, which are easier to identify, while others develop pain first, which may be in the chest, abdomen, etc., in which case it is easy to be misdiagnosed as angina, liver pain, appendicitis, etc., and the diagnosis is clear only after a few days of sending out blisters. He also hopes to make more people aware of this disease through the lecture in order to strive for early detection and early treatment. ”Many people know that medicine should not be taken indiscriminately, but they don’t take it seriously when it is applied externally.” The dermatology department often encounters patients who use random medications on their own, even some with disinfectant, edible vinegar, garlic, cactus liquid, etc., which can be described as a variety of things. Most of these patients think that topical medications are not harmful, but it is precisely these topical medications that can irritate the skin locally, causing a series of problems such as rashes, swelling and allergies. One of Professor Wang’s patients used to dip her hands in glacial acetic acid without doctor’s diagnosis and guidance, which unexpectedly caused severe skin allergy and made her hands highly swollen and ulcerated. Another patient, who thought that rubbing garlic could disinfect, ended up with contact dermatitis. Myth 2: Bathing too often Modern people’s awareness of personal hygiene has been strengthened, and bathing every day has become a habit for many people. In the dry autumn and winter season, even the occasional itchy skin is not clean bath, so wash more diligently. In fact, bathing too often is not always a good thing. The outermost layer of the skin is the stratum corneum, automatically shed the stratum corneum, sebum and sweat mixed with the formation of scale will not be a lot, regular cleaning can remove this part of the dirt, which has a certain role in the health of the skin. However, if the bath is too diligent, destroying the stratum corneum and the protective oil, the natural barrier of the skin will be lost, and the moisture in the skin tissue will evaporate more easily, and dry skin will appear. Especially the middle-aged and elderly people, due to the decay of skin function, various secretion function decreases, frequent bathing, the skin will be a lot of wounded water and oil, the skin appears more coarse and dry, easy to occur stubborn dry itch. Therefore, it is recommended that the elderly, in the dry autumn and winter season, do not bathe too often. In addition, it is also necessary to avoid high water temperature to stimulate the skin and reduce the use of alkaline soap. Insisting on applying moisturizing cream after bathing is a good way to protect the skin and prevent dryness and itchiness. Myth 3: Chronic urticaria tries to “break the root at once” Chronic urticaria, also known as “rubella”, is a common skin disease. Patients often have a red, swollen and itchy rash on their bodies or limbs from time to time, and the more they scratch, the more itchy and swollen they become. Professor Wang told the audience in his lecture that the treatment of chronic urticaria must be adhered to long-term medication. If you are anxious to “cure”, you are entering a misunderstanding. He said that some chronic urticaria patients want to “cut off the root” at once, and after a period of treatment in a hospital feel bad, they will change to another hospital, repeat the examination, dispensing drugs, thus falling into a vicious circle. This is not only a waste of medical resources but also does not help to reduce the disease. In fact, the current medicine can not cure chronic urticaria at once, only through drug control, and then gradually reduce the amount of medication after the condition is stable. Some patients are worried about the side effects of long-term medication, but Professor Wang believes that most dermatological drugs are safe as long as they adhere to the principles of medication and are used under the guidance of a doctor. The first thing you need to do is to take a look at the actual rash. In fact, there are many skin diseases that are related to environmental factors. If the patient’s environment is not changed, the condition will not improve. He said, for example, papular urticaria is a very common summer skin disease in Shanghai, occurring in the upper extremities, the outer side of the trunk a red rash. In fact, this belongs to the insect bite dermatitis, is caused by the mat mite. In fact, as long as you do a good job of disinfection before using the mat in summer, you can avoid it. It is recommended that before using the mat every summer, disinfect it first, spray mite removal drugs and roll it up and smother it for about 2 hours, then wash it, dry it and dry it before using it. Another example of an infectious skin disease – ringworm, mostly related to household chores, such as repeated contact with water and cleaning agents, the microenvironment of the skin surface is damaged, followed by fungal infection invasion caused by the disease. There is also a disease called “dermatophytosis”, which is an acute skin inflammation caused by dermatophyte bacteria, and is more common in the right hand due to infection with dermatophyte bacteria from inadvertent stabbing of the hand while cleaning pig bones and fish. There are also some skin diseases that are related to hair dye and cosmetic allergies. It is easy to find out what the problem is if the scalp becomes swollen, itchy, blistered, and eroded soon after hair dyeing. However, some cases of hair dye allergy are overlooked because of their slow onset, for example, some patients may develop skin problems such as erythema and dandruff for several months after hair dyeing, in which case it is difficult to think of them being related to hair dyes and cosmetics. Using regular hair coloring products and minimizing the number of hair colorings is the best way to prevent such cases.