HEALTHY CHOICES: Protecting Your Skin

Ms. Mai

Lawndale High School

Protecting Your Skin

Your skin is the largest organ of your body

Organ – body part made up of different types of tissues that work together to perform a certain task

Other examples of organs are your heart, your lungs, your stomach, and your brain

Structures of the Skin

Your skin consists of two layers: epidermis and dermis

The epidermis is the outer layer of dead skin cells that is constantly being rubbed off. The epidermis also produces nonliving parts of your body like your hair and nails.The dermis is the thick inner layer of skin that includes blood vessels, nerve endings, and oil glands

Structure of Skin

Purpose of Your Skin

Your skin serves four main purposes1. Protections

2. Sensation

3. Temperature Regulation

4. Waste Removal

1. Protection

Your skin is your body’s first defense against bacteria and viruses entering your body

Your skin is coated with an oily substance called sebum that also helps protect against disease-causing organisms

Your skin also keeps moisture inside your body so that tissues and organs don’t dry out

2. Sensation

Receptors are nerve endings that receives information about the environment and sends that information to the brain

Receptors sense pain, cold, heat, contact, and pressure

This sensory information keeps you aware of the conditions around you and helps you avoid danger

3. Temperature Regulation

In order for your body to function, it must stay at a fairly constant internal temperature of about 98ºF with the help of sweat glands and blood vessels in your dermisSweat glands produce perspiration when our body is hotBlood vessels dilate to release heatWhen perspiration evaporates, your body cools

Hairs and body fat also help maintain our body’s temperature

4. Waste Removal

As our body takes in food, water, and air, it also produces a lot of waste in the process

Some of the waste products are carried by the blood to our skin and disposed through perspiration (salt, urea, extra water)

Common Skin Problems

Disease, infection, injury, and environmental conditions are often the cause of skin problems

Many of these problems can be avoided with good skin care

Dry Skin

THE PROBLEM - Weather conditions such as wind, sunlight, dry air, or even heated indoor air can cause the skin to become dry and flaky

THE SOLUTION – scrubbing with a washcloth when bathing can help remove the dry skin and using a moisturizer can help restore lost moisture

Acne

THE PROBLEM – oil glands produce an excess of sebum which accumulates and hardens in a pore (blackheads), bacteria grows in the trapped area and the pore becomes inflamed and filled with pus

THE SOLUTION – eating foods that decrease your skin problem

Dermatitis

THE PROBLEM – condition where there are red, swollen, itchy patches on your skin caused by an allergic reaction (contact dermatitis results when irritating substance touches the skin directly like soap, perfumes, hair dyes, fabrics, make-up)

THE SOLUTION – prevent contact with irritating substances

Psoriasis

THE PROBLEM – patches of pink to purple-colored skin covered with grayish-white scales (generally don’t itch or cause pain, and not contagious)

THE SOLUTION – no cure, but can be treated with medicated cream

Skin Infections

Skin infections can include insect bites, scrapes, scratches, ringworm, athlete’s foot

Each disease-causing organism or break in the skin is treated differently

Skin Cancer

Cancer – abnormal, uncontrolled growth of cells that invade and destroy healthy tissue

There are different types of skin cancer, but the most serious type is called melanoma

Melanoma begins as a mole or birthmark and can spread quickly to other parts of the bodyMelanoma can be cured if identified early and treated

Avoiding Skin Cancer

The best way to avoid skin cancer is to limit your sun exposure

According to the American Cancer Society, sunburns during childhood and teenage years increases the risk of developing skin cancer later

Half the people with skin cancer are between the ages of 15 and 50

Caring For Your Skin

You can keep your skin healthy and attractive by practicing good health habits like eating balanced meals and drinking plenty of water everyday

Regular washing keeps your skin clean and free from odor

Moisturizers help hold moisture and protect against dry skin

Caring For Your Body

Body odor occurs when bacteria come in contact with perspiration

Deodorants and antiperspirants help prevent body odor, along with daily bathing

Protection from Ultraviolet Rays

Although some exposure to sunlight is needed to stimulate the production of vitamin D in our bodies, too much exposure increases your risk of skin cancer

Sunlight contains two types of UV rays.

UVB rays are responsible for causing sunburns and skin cancer (UVA rays also cause some damage, but not as much)

Protecting from Ultraviolet Rays

To protect your skin, always use sunscreen when you are outdoors, even when you are not tanning

Sunscreen is a lotion that blocks out some of the sun’s UVB rays and reduces skin damage, while sunblock completely blocks out the sun

Sunscreens are graded by a number called SPF (sun protection factor) that shows how much protection they provide against UVB rays