Recent Blog Articles

Tick season is expanding: Protect yourself against Lyme disease

What? Another medical form to fill out?

How do trees and green spaces enhance our health?

A muscle-building obsession in boys: What to know and do

Harvard Health Ad Watch: New drug, old song, clever tagline

Concussion in children: What to know and do

What color is your tongue? What's healthy, what's not?

Your amazing parathyroid glands

When — and how — should you be screened for colon cancer?

Co-regulation: Helping children and teens navigate big emotions

Skin and Hair Archive

Diseases & Conditions

When is a drug rash more than just a rash?

Published April 7, 2022

Rashes are a common side effect of many medications, and while they can be annoying, they typically run their course over a week or two. But not all drug rashes are mild — and some can even be deadly. How can you tell a serious rash from one that is just a nuisance?

$Protecting the skin from the sun doesn’t increase fracture risk$

Staying Healthy

Protecting the skin from the sun doesn’t increase fracture risk

Published February 1, 2022

Protecting the skin from the sun doesn’t increase the risk of vitamin D deficiency or bone fracture, according to a recent study.

Diseases & Conditions

The heel problem that threatens your mobility

Published January 1, 2022

Thick, dead skin patches (calluses) on the heels sometimes become cracked. The condition, known as cracked heels, makes it hard to walk and increases the risk for infection, since cracks open the door for bacteria to enter the body. If infected, cracked heels can turn into foot wounds that become hard to heal, especially in people with diabetes or peripheral artery disease who have poor circulation in their legs and feet.

Diseases & Conditions

Vaccination still recommended after a shingles infection

Published December 1, 2021

The CDC recommends people ages 50 and older get the Shingrix vaccine to protect against shingles. But those who haven’t been vaccinated and get shingles for the first time should still receive the shot to reduce their risk of future attacks.

Men's Health

Skin in the game: Common skin problems and solutions for men

Updated August 22, 2023

Dry skin and athlete's foot affect many men. There are several treatment options for both conditions, and steps you can take to prevent them from occurring or returning.

Diseases & Conditions

Harvard Health Ad Watch: An upbeat ad for a psoriasis treatment

Published November 29, 2021

Psoriasis is a chronic skin disease characterized by rough, inflamed patches. There are a number of treatment options available, including a medication called Skyrizi that is given as an injection. Does an upbeat, frequently-run ad on TV clearly deliver all the information people need to know about this drug –– or just some of it?

Staying Healthy

Why is topical vitamin C important for skin health?

Published November 10, 2021

Vitamin C is an antioxidant, meaning it fights harmful toxins that come in contact with your skin either externally or from inside the body. Products containing vitamin C that are applied to the skin may help slow early skin aging, prevent sun damage, and improve the appearance of wrinkles, spots, and acne.

Diseases & Conditions

Taming the chronic inflammation of psoriasis

Published November 1, 2021

Psoriasis is a chronic inflammatory condition in which the immune system attacks the skin. It causes painful skin lesions and may also lead to psoriatic arthritis, hypertension, diabetes, chronic kidney disease, or coronary artery disease. Psoriasis treatments include topical steroids, gentle exfoliant lotions, emollients that keep the skin hydrated, ultraviolet light (phototherapy), laser therapies, vitamin A (retinoid creams), and medications (for moderate-to-severe psoriasis). People with psoriasis are encouraged to get vaccinated against COVID-19 with an mRNA vaccine (from either Pfizer or Moderna) as soon as possible, if they haven’t already done so.

Staying Healthy

You don't say? Pointing a finger(nail) at your health

Published November 1, 2021

Regular, healthy nails are smooth, uniformly shaped, and often with a lighter half-moon shape under the nail near the cuticle. Yet some conditions can show their mark on your fingernails, such as lung disease, psoriasis, and a heart valve infection.

Staying Healthy

Sunscreen makers withdraw products found to contain cancer-causing substance

Published October 1, 2021

In July 2021, Johnson & Johnson recalled five aerosol sunscreen products and CVS stopped selling two sunscreen products because of the presence of the carcinogen benzene.

Result 51 - 60 of 229