Becky Perry-Community Health Trends for Salt Lake Valley

I spoke with Dr. Richard Stone, a dermatologist in the Salt Lake Valley who answered my questions on the recent health trends in dermatology.

1: Sunscreen

Sunscreen has been a huge concern over the past few years as news about the damaging effects of the sun has emerged. But even when people wear sunscreen, they are still susceptible to skin cancer. Research has come to show that the SPF of your sunscreen isn’t as important as the ingredients in your sunscreen. Dr. Stone recommends that his patients wear a sunscreen with Titanium and Zinc Oxide which blocks both the UVA and UVB rays, and that while grocery store brands claim to block both, Titanium and Zinc Oxide are the only ingredients that can completely block them.

2: Skin Cancer in Elderly and Teenagers/Young Adults

Because 50 years ago the sunscreen was more of a moisturizer than a protector and the damaging effects of the sun weren’t very well known, many of the skin cancers that Dr. Stone sees and treats are those at the age of the Baby boomers and above. What has also become more recent is skin cancer in individuals younger than 25. According to Dr. Stone this is because of the peer pressure of young adults to be a certain color and many of these cases are caused by the use of tanning beds.

3: Acne

Dr. Stone said that acne has also been one of the biggest increases in office visits in his office over the last several years. While people have always had acne, the severity has gotten worse and Dr. Stone accounts this to the American Diet. Diet has a huge role in the function of our body and because American’s have such a high fat diet it manifests itself in our skin. This is also making acne harder to treat because the diet can decrease the effectiveness of the medications.

4: Pre-Mature Aging

Recently patients in their 30’s and 40’s have come in because of wrinkles and pre-mature aging of their skin. While cosmetic procedures such as botox, face lifts, and laser treatments can treat these problems the number one prevention of these issues is to use sun protection. Dr. Stone says that the sun is the only thing that keeps him in business. Most dermatologic problems are caused by the sun, and can be prevented by a good sunscreen.

5: Auto-Immune Diseases—Psoriasis and Keratosis Pilaris

 Dr. Stone says that autoimmune diseases have become more prevalent because of better diagnostic methods and closer inbreeding. Because these diseases look similar to rashes most doctors prescribed medicines for rashes. It wasn’t until about 10 years ago that Dr. Stone started seeing more and more of these cases and found confidence that his colleagues were also seeing more of them as well. Because of better diagnostic methods he is now able to cure patients of these diseases.