Integumentary System Disorders

Integumentary System:

disorders

SKIN

PSORIASISDefinition: Psoriasis is a common skin disease that affects the life cycle

of skin cells. Psoriasis causes cells to build up rapidly on the surface of the skin, forming thick silvery scales and itchy, dry, red patches that are sometimes painful.

5 Main Types:a.) Erythrodermic - The skin redness is very intense and covers a large area.b.) Guttate - Small, pink-red spots appear on the skin.c.) Inverse - Skin redness and irritation occurs in the armpits, groin, and in between overlapping skin.d.) Plaque - Thick, red patches of skin are covered by flaky, silver-white scales. This is the most common type of psoriasis.e.) Pustular - White blisters are surrounded by red, irritated skin.

Common Causes: Infections; Injury to the skin, such as a cut or scrape, bug bite, or a severe sunburn; Stress; Smoking; Heavy alcohol consumption; Certain medications such as antimalarial drugs and beta blockers

Symptoms: Skin may be: itchy, dry and covered with silver, flaky skin (scales), pink-red in color (like the color of salmon), raised and thick; Genital sores in males; Joint pain; nail changes including thick nails, yellow-brown nails, dents in the nail, and nail lifts off from the skin underneath; Severe dandruff on the scalp

Treatments: Topical treatments: Skin lotions, ointments, creams, and shampoos; Sytemic, or body-wide treatments: Pills or injections that affect the body's immune response, not just the skin; Phototherapy, which uses light to treat psoriasis (ultraviolet light).

PSORIASIS

Erythrodermic

Guttate

InversePlaque

Pustular

VITILIGODefinition: Vitiligo is a condition in which your skin loses melanin,

the pigment that determines the color of your skin, hair and eyes. Vitiligo occurs when the cells that produce melanin die or no longer form melanin, causing slowly enlarging white patches of irregular shapes to appear on your skin.

Common Causes: melanin-forming cells (melanocytes) fail to produce melanin

Symptoms: Flat areas of normal-feeling skin without any pigment appear suddenly or gradually. These areas have a darker border. The edges are well defined but irregular; most often affects the face, elbows and knees, hands and feet, and genits. It affects both sides of the body equally.

Treatments: Phototherapy (skin is carefully exposed to ultraviolet light); Medicines applied to the skin, such as: Corticosteroid creams or ointments; Depigmentation (In extreme cases when most of the body is affected, the remaining skin that still has pigment may be depigmented)

VITILIGO

HAIR

ALOPECIADefinition: Alopecia is the loss of hair. Hair loss can be caused

by different reasons, including damage to the hair shaft or follicles.

2 Types:a.) Alopecia areata- when the body's immune system mistakenly attacks hair follicles and causes hair to fall out.b.) Androgenetic alopecia- is a kind of hair loss that's inherited. Hair on the head thins and falls out.

Common Causes: Aging; Genetics; Illness; Some medications, such as chemotherapy; Malnutrition

Symptoms: Gradual thinning on top of head; Circular or patchy bald spots; Sudden loosening of hair

Treatments: Medications (Minoxidil and Finasteride); Surgery such as hair transplants and scalp reduction

ALOPECIA

HIRSUTISMDefinition: Hirsutism is a condition of unwanted, male-

pattern hair growth in women. Hirsutism results in excessive amounts of coarse and pigmented hair on body areas where men typically grow hair — face, chest and back.

Common Causes: Increased level of androgens, the male hormones; Oversensitivity of hair follicles to androgens.

Symptoms: Irregular menstrual periods; Acne; Loss of feminine body shape; Signs of masculinity -- deepening voice, male pattern baldness, enlarged clitoris, enlarged shoulder muscles

Treatments: Hair-removal therapies such as Electrolysis and Laser therapy; Medical therapies such as Oral contraceptives, Anti-androgens, and Topical cream

HIRSUTISM

Bearded Lady ANNIE JONES

Nails

NAIL ABNORMALITIESDefinition: Nail abnormalities are problems with the color, shape,

texture, or thickness of the fingernails or toenails.Common Causes: Injury: crushing the base of the nail or the nail

bed (may cause a permanent deformity), long-term exposure to moisture or nail polish (can cause nails to peel and become brittle); Infection: Fungus or yeast (cause changes in the color, texture, and shape of the nails), Bacterial infection (may cause a change in nail color or painful areas of infection under the nail or in the surrounding skin), Severe infections (may cause nail loss); Diseases such as kidney, thyroid, and liver disorders

Prevention: Do not bite, pick, or tear at your nails (in severe cases, some people may need psychological help or encouragement to stop these behaviors); Keep hangnails clipped; Wear shoes that don't squeeze the toes together, and always cut the nails straight across along the top; To prevent brittle nails, keep the nails short and avoid nail polish.

NAIL ABNORMALITIES

Nail infection : Paronychia

Koilonychia

Yellow Nail Syndrome

Onycholysis

7 Fingernail Problems not to ignore

Your fingernails can provide clues to your overall health — but do you know how to read the signs? Check out photos of seven nail conditions that warrant medical attention.

With yellow nail syndrome, nails thicken and new growth slows. This results in a yellowish discoloration of the nails. Nails affected by yellow nail syndrome might lack a cuticle and detach from the nail bed in places. Yellow nail syndrome is often a sign of respiratory disease, such as chronic bronchitis. Yellow nail syndrome can also be related to swelling of the hands (lymphedema).

Nail pitting is small depressions in the nails. Nail pitting is most common in people who have psoriasis — a condition characterized by scaly patches on the skin. Nail pitting can also be related to connective tissue disorders, such as Reiter's syndrome, and alopecia areata — an autoimmune disease that causes hair loss.

Nail clubbing occurs when the tips of the fingers enlarge and the nails curve around the fingertips, usually over the course of years. Nail clubbing is sometimes the result of low oxygen in the blood and could be a sign of various types of lung disease. Nail clubbing is also associated with inflammatory bowel disease, cardiovascular disease, liver disease and AIDS.

Spoon nails (koilonychia) are soft nails that look scooped out. The depression usually is large enough to hold a drop of liquid. Often, spoon nails are a sign of iron deficiency anemia or a liver condition known as hemochromatosis, in which your body absorbs too much iron from the food you eat. Spoon nails can also be associated with heart disease and hypothyroidism.

With the condition known as Terry's nails, the tip of each nail has a dark band. Sometimes this can be attributed to aging. In other cases, it can be a sign of a serious underlying condition, such as liver disease, congestive heart failure or diabetes.

Beau's lines are indentations that run across the nails. The indentations can appear when growth at the area under the cuticle is interrupted by injury or severe illness. Conditions associated with Beau's lines include uncontrolled diabetes and peripheral vascular disease, as well as illnesses associated with a high fever, such as scarlet fever, measles, mumps and pneumonia. Beau's lines can also be a sign of zinc deficiency.

With a condition known as onycholysis, the fingernails become loose and can separate from the nail bed. Sometimes detached nails are associated with injury or infection. In other cases nail separation is a reaction to a particular drug or consumer product, such as nail hardeners or adhesives. Thyroid disease and psoriasis — a condition characterized by scaly patches on the skin — also can cause nail separation.