Skin Problems

Just below the surface of your skin, a tiny network of blood vessels distributes fuel through the blood and removes waste from your body. But what happens when these capillaries break?

By Kevin P. Allen

It's a fact of life: As we age, the body's skin loses its elasticity. But, there are ways to slow the process.

By Kevin P. Allen

Gettingathlete's foot is the closest most of us will ever come to being an athlete, but aside from its familiar moniker, this fungal infection really has nothing to do with sports. When the symptoms arise, these remedies could offer relief.

By Kevin P. Allen

Fight nasty bruises the eco-friendly way. Learn more about these 10 natural ways to prevent and heal bruises.

By Josh Peterson, Planet Green

Tea Tree Oil is an effective treatment for our most common skin conditions. Learn more about treating your skin problems naturally with Tea Tree Oil.

By Sheila Shaigany

Although sandpaper could remove a tattoo, it's not worth trying it. Learn about whether sandpaper can remove tattoos.

By HowStuffWorks.com Contributors

Scleroderma affects the body's production of collagen, often resulting in bands of tight, hard skin that make it difficult to move the mouth and fingers. In some severe cases, scleroderma can affect vital organs. Is it treatable?

By Victoria Vogt

Babies are known for their silky-smooth skin, but some are born with hard, diamond-shaped scales instead. For people with harlequin ichthyosis, the skin can't do its job. Instead, it works against them.

By Tom Scheve

As the name suggests, chilblains is a cold-weather skin condition that makes your fingers and toes redden and swell. How can you prevent chilblains if you have to go out in the cold?

By John Kelly

Named for the scaly appearance it causes on the skin, the types of ichthyosis can range from everyday dry skin to more serious, fatal versions. What causes this family of skin conditions, and how can you treat it?

By Laurie L. Dove

Shingles is a terribly painful outbreak of the varicella zoster virus, a member of the herpes family better known by its initial infection, chicken pox. Learn how to prevent and treat the painful effects of shingles.

By the editors of PureHealthMD

Skin is tough -- because it has to be. It must protect us from the elements and environmental toxins, but what happens when its biggest threat comes from inside the body?

By Josh Clark

It may be easy to dismiss red, itchy bumps on your skin as hives, but it might turn out to be another condition. How can you tell the difference between hives and conditions that look like it?

By Thorin Klosowski

On Tuesday, you find a seemingly harmless, tiny cut on your ankle. But by Friday, you're in the hospital fighting for your life as you undergo your fifth surgery in three days. Necrotizing fasciitis (aka flesh-eating bacteria) may sound like something out of a science-fiction novel, but it's a very real, potentially fatal illness.

By Elizabeth Sprouse

Though some think they're limited to hospitals, you can catch staph infections anywhere from restaurants to locker rooms. How do these infections spread, and what is it like to have one?

By Thorin Klosowski

From a blue tint to scaly plates, some skin conditions are recognized for their unusual symptoms. What are some of the rarest skin conditions in the world, and what do they look like?

By Jane McGrath

Parasites — life forms that feed from others — are creepy to begin with. But some of them use your skin as a place to raise their families. What types of critters are we talking about, and how do we avoid them?

By Jonathan Strickland

Although they often have the pleasing effect of making you look cool, there's an even better reason to hide behind a pair of shades: preventing sun damage. But is it a battle between long-term damage versus short-term, unsightly pimples?

By Tom Scheve

Morgellons Disease, the name for a group of symptoms marked by unidentified fibers that exit a person's body, is still written off by doctors as a mental illness. What's at the root of this mysterious condition?

By Laurie L. Dove

People who have psoriasis see dermatologists for treatment. But should they have a cardiologist on speed dial? New medical research suggests a possible link between psoriasis and heart attacks.

By Victoria Vogt

When you were a kid, you collected freckles like coins in a piggy bank -- happily. But as an adult, you'd rather not bank these brown spots. How can you make them disappear?

By Brian Boone

There's a fungus among us, and it's making us miserable. Athlete's foot, also known as tinea pedis, is an infection caused by a tricky fungus. Can it invade your skin anywhere above your toes?

By Christine Venzon

People have known about the soothing properties of lavender for centuries, and its oil can be found in many skincare products. But if you have a minor skin problem, how much help will lavender be to you?

By Jonathan Strickland

Those blue, twisted varicose veins that pop up on your legs occur when the blood vessel valves weaken and blood pools in the vein. Can this cause blood clots, and if so, are they dangerous?

By Laurie L. Dove

It's true that exercising to boost circulation may help prevent varicose veins, those blue, twisted blood vessels that pop up in your legs. But can exercise help -- or hurt -- if you already have them?

By Thorin Klosowski