Revealing his condition, he stressed that the most important thing is “to love ourselves and be comfortable with our own skin”.
Dr. Elena Montalvan is a dermatologist and atopic dermatologist. Photo: Taken from the file of Dr.
“The skin disease It is a chronic condition that usually affects people with a personal or family history of nasal allergies and/or asthma and is characterized by skin lesions and a lot of itching,” were the words of Dr. Elena Montalvan, who recently revealed this in In addition to being one of the leading dermatologists in Puerto Rico. , he is sick.
The skin disease It is not treated, it is controlled and is exacerbated when a person is exposed to certain things or when they have a lot of stress.
Even when they do not develop skin lesions, these people live with dryness and itching, even while sleeping. Therefore, they should do maneuvers in their daily life, such as avoiding long showers or very hot water, resorting to fragrance-free soap substitutes, getting used to the fact that their clothes will not have any smell, and using perfume without touching the skin. . Or apply moisturizer as soon as they get out of the shower so it can absorb into the skin.
Things that aren’t important to others, like putting one’s feet on the cold floor when getting up, can make the patient suffer skin disease Have a bad day. This is because: “The skin is hypersensitive and overreacts to common external factors such as dust, pollen, woolen clothing, mites, temperature extremes, and/or perfumes or dyes, among others,” Montalvan says.
diagnosis skin disease It is usually determined by history and physical examination. A medical professional can help you live with this condition, because the most important thing Montalvan highlights is: “The goal is to love ourselves and be comfortable in our own skin.”
Atopic dermatitis and hereditary dystrophy
Dr. Enida de la Torre, a dermatologist and past president of the Puerto Rican Dermatological Association, said exclusively to Medicine and Public Health that skin disease It contains an important genetic component within the diagnostic criteria in patients who suffer from it.
“It is known that there are genetic factors and there is a so-called atopic triad and this means that patients suffer from it skin disease They would have genetics or a family history of conditions like asthma, allergic rhinitis, and dermatitis.”
He noted that dermatitis is a condition that affects nearly 60% of patients in the first years of their life, and up to 90% can suffer from it in the first five years of their lives.
In this sense, Dr. Rogelio Mercado, former president of the Puerto Rican Dermatological Society, explained that many skin conditions are associated with inflammatory diseases, diseases of the immune system and stress, which is also associated as a predetermined factor in many diseases. cases.
“In principle, all skin diseases are associated with inflammatory diseases, the immune system and stress as a factor that aggravates the condition that can be skin disease, alopecia, among others. And I want to make it clear that stress in itself is not a determinant of suffering from any related condition, it is just a cause of a genetic predisposition and the environment in which the patient develops.”
In this sense, Dr. Mercado explained that in western Puerto Rico he found a higher prevalence of benign pre-cancerous lesions, as in the area there are many fishermen who have been in the sun their whole lives, and have already entered puberty is to see those consequences.