There are a number of skin conditions that can affect the vulva. Sometimes the products a woman uses every day can irritate the skin or provoke an allergic reaction.

Getting one is pretty safe these days, but what if you have second thoughts and want a tattoo removed? Even today's pinpoint lasers may not get rid of it entirely.

People have been getting tattoos for millennia, but only recently has tattooing entered the American mainstream. In a 2004 telephone survey of Americans ages 18 to 50, a quarter of those interviewed said they had a tattoo. Now it's probably more.

There are lots of dubious claims and mysterious ingredients, but yes, by trapping water, moisturizing can help with dry skin.

Dry skin by itself isn't a medical worry, although serious cases can result in cracks and fissures that invite infection and inflammation. The real issue is discomfort — dry skin can be sore, tender to the touch, and often itchy (although not all itchy skin is dry). There's also the red, rough, scaly appearance lamented in many advertisements for moisturizers.

This is one problem that hasn't suffered from lack of attention: there are dozens of creams and lotions for dry skin. They are sold as moisturizers, which is more of a marketing term than a medical or scientific one. Indeed, routine skin care is a realm where there's little science to be found. Well-controlled studies of ingredients are few and far between. Companies keep information about ingredients proprietary and are careful to limit claims for what the products do to stay within FDA rules.

Q. I'm 63, and I've begun to notice a decline in the quality of my fingernails. They have numerous up-and-down ridges, and at the tips, they're always splitting. I've heard you can tell a lot about a person's health from the condition of her nails. What does my split nails say about mine?

A. Some changes in nails can be a sign of an underlying health problem, but the lengthwise nail ridging you describe is usually not one. It's simply a common sign of normal aging. The growth of fingernails and toenails slows as we get older, and their appearance may change. Some nails become yellowed or dull and brittle, and some or all may develop tiny longitudinal ridges. Fingernails tend to become thinner and more fragile, while toenails usually become thicker and harder.

Cancerous Skin Growths

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How to apply sunscreen for maximum protection

Most families follow common medical advice and take along a bottle of sunscreen when they're spending a day in the sun. But how do you know if you're applying enough? Most people don't, but a letter published in the June 22, 2002, issue of the British Medical Journal may help clarify the amount of sunscreen you should use and how often you should apply it.

The letter, written by Drs. Steve Taylor and Brian Diffey, suggests people follow the "rule of nines" to get the sun protection factor (SPF) that's listed on the bottle. According to the rule, you should divide your body into 11 different sections, each making up about 9% of your total surface area:

Hair

Wet Combing More Effective for Detecting Head Lice than Traditional Visual Inspection

Head lice are minute, parasitic insects that live in hair. They easily spread from person to person, especially among children at school or in day care, and they are responsible for many school absences. Because lice are barely visible, finding lice eggs, called nits, is the easier way to detect an infestation. These tiny, white flecks cling to hair shafts. Researchers at Belgium’s Ghent University recently found that carefully sweeping a fine-toothed comb through wet, conditioned hair is more effective for detecting lice than the traditional, dry-scalp visual inspection.

The study, published in the British Medical Journal, compared the two methods on 224 school children. Two trained teams independently examined the students: one using the wet comb technique, the other using the visual test. Wet combing found lice in 49 children, while the visual test only detected 32 of these cases. In addition, the traditional inspection mistakenly identified 14 uninfected children as having lice.

The results suggest that compared to traditional, visual inspection, wet combing would allow for more accurate head lice detection, meaning more infestations detected before they can spread, and fewer non-infested children receiving unnecessary treatment with insecticides.

Acne

Questions to Discuss with Your Doctor:

• At what age did your problem with acne begin?
• Do you have blackheads, whiteheads, pustules, or cysts?
• If so, what areas are involved: your face, chest, back?
• What is your skin-care routine?
• What products do you use? Do any of them help?
• What medications have you tried (e.g., benzoyl peroxide, Retin-A, antibiotics, Accutane)?
• If you are female, does your acne get worse around the time of your menstrual period and do you have regular menstrual periods?
• What medicines do you take, including over-the-counter medicines and birth-control pills?
• Have you been developing extra body or facial hair?

Your Doctor Might Examine the Following Body Structures or Functions:

• Skin exam

Your Doctor Might Order the Following Lab Tests or Studies:

• Blood tests (liver function tests, cholesterol, or if you are female, perhaps a pregnancy test if you are taking the medicine Accutane)

Rash

Questions to Discuss with Your Doctor:

• How long have you had the rash?
• Where did it start?
• Has it spread?
• Is the rash only on parts of your skin that have been exposed to the sun?
• Does it itch or hurt?
• Is the rash red, pink, or purple?
• Is the rash smooth or bumpy?
• Have you had sores in your mouth, eyes, or other mucous membranes?
• Have you had blisters on your skin?
• Have you had trouble breathing?
• Have you had a fever?
• Have you symptoms of an upper respiratory tract infection (for example, a cold)?
• Have you had vomiting or diarrhea?
• Are you taking any prescription drugs, over-the-counter drugs, herbs, or supplements? Did you start any of them in the past two months?
• Have you had any new exposures to foods or chemicals?
• Any exposure to insects?
• Have you had any recent sun exposure?

Your Doctor Might Examine the Following Body Structures or Functions:

• Temperature
• Examination of your skin, mouth, eyes, mucous membranes, lymph nodes, liver, and spleen

Your Doctor Might Order the Following Lab Tests or Studies:

• Skin scrapings for microscopic analysis or culture (if the rash looks infectious)
• Complete blood cell count or other blood tests (if you appear sick or have a fever)
• Skin biopsy