Affiliated Dermatologists provides comprehensive, state-of-the-art treatment for issues relating to the skin, hair, and nails. We believe that informed patients are better equipped to make decisions regarding their health and wellbeing. For your personal use, we have created an extensive patient library covering an array of educational topics. Browse through these diagnoses and treatments to learn more about topics of interest to you.
We utilize the latest advancements in dermatological care to treat every skin disease, including the following:
Acne
Acne is the plugging of pores that produces blackheads, whiteheads, pimples, and deeper cysts on the face, neck, chest, and back. It affects people well beyond the teen years and, if severe, can scar. Treatments range from over-the-counter options to retinoids, antibiotics, and isotretinoin.
Actinic Keratosis
Actinic keratoses (AKs) are rough, scaly patches left by years of sun exposure. Because some can turn into squamous cell carcinoma, they should be checked. Treatments include cryotherapy, photodynamic therapy, chemical peels, 5-fluorouracil, Picato gel, imiquimod, and retinoids.
Alopecia Areata
Alopecia areata shows up as well-defined bald patches on the scalp. It may clear on its own or resist treatment. Options that can encourage regrowth include corticosteroids, topical minoxidil, and anthralin, along with anti-inflammatory medicines.
Athlete’s Foot
Athlete's foot, medically tinea pedis, is a fungal infection that usually starts between the toes, where warm, damp shoes let fungus thrive. It can spread to the soles, nails, and other areas, and antifungal creams or pills may be needed for several weeks.
Atopic Dermatitis
Atopic dermatitis is a common, intensely itchy skin condition seen most often in children, sometimes alongside a family history of hay fever or asthma. Scratching leads to redness, cracking, and weeping, and treatment aims to calm inflammation and itch with creams, and sometimes light therapy.
Birthmarks
Birthmarks are areas of colored or raised skin, made of pigment or blood vessels, that appear at or shortly after birth. Most are harmless and fade over childhood, while some, like port-wine stains, persist and may be treated with lasers, corticosteroids, or removal.
Cyst
Cysts are closed sacs in the deeper skin filled with fluid or dead skin cells, and they are usually harmless. They can rupture, become inflamed, or get infected, and treatment may mean draining the sac, removing it surgically, or antibiotics.
Discoid Lupus Erythematosus
Discoid lupus erythematosus is a form of lupus that usually stays limited to the skin, an uncommon red, scaly rash on the face and scalp that sunlight makes worse. It can leave thinning, scarring, or color change and, on the scalp, permanent hair loss, and is treated mainly with topical steroid creams.
Eczema
Eczema, also known as atopic dermatitis, is a long-term skin disorder that brings redness, scaly patches, swelling, and often intense itch. It usually begins in early childhood and may be outgrown, and it responds first to gentle fragrance-free moisturizers, with steroid creams or other medicines added when needed.
Hair Loss
Hair loss takes several forms in men and women. The two most common are hereditary pattern thinning, which grows more likely with each decade after puberty, and telogen effluvium, a temporary shedding often set off by pregnancy, illness, anemia, or thyroid trouble.
Head Lice
Head lice are tiny parasitic insects that live on the scalp and cause intense itching, laying eggs, or nits, that cling to hair and resemble dandruff. They spread easily through close contact, especially among school-age children, and are treated with permethrin shampoo and careful nit removal.
Herpes Simplex
Herpes simplex, the HSV-1 virus, causes cold sores on the lips and fever blisters in the mouth, sometimes with tingling, sore throat, fever, or swollen glands. The virus stays dormant and can flare with stress, illness, or sun, and antiviral medicines ease and shorten outbreaks.
Herpes Zoster
Shingles, or herpes zoster, comes from the chickenpox virus reactivating in nerve cells years after the original infection. Burning or tingling on one side of the body often precedes a blistering rash, and antiviral medicine started within 72 hours can help.
Hives
Hives, also called urticaria, are raised pink or red welts that itch and can join into larger patches. They often stem from an allergic reaction and usually fade within a day; antihistamines are the mainstay, and swelling of the mouth or trouble breathing needs urgent care.
Hyperhidrosis
Hyperhidrosis means sweating well beyond what the body needs to stay cool. A primary form often starts in childhood on the hands, feet, underarms, or face, while a secondary form is linked to other conditions or medicines. Options include prescription antiperspirants, iontophoresis, oral medicine, and botulinum toxin.
Immunobullous Disorders
Immunobullous disorders arise when the immune system mistakenly attacks skin proteins, causing severe blistering of the skin and the lining of the mouth, eyes, or genitals. Three common forms include pemphigus vulgaris and bullous pemphigoid, and they are usually managed with steroids and immune-suppressing drugs.
Lichen Planus
Lichen planus is an inflammatory condition marked by itchy, reddish-purple, flat-topped bumps, most often on the inner wrists and ankles but sometimes the mouth, nails, or lower back. A biopsy may confirm it, and treatment, often steroid creams and antihistamines, eases itch until the rash clears.
Melasma
Melasma produces brown or gray patches on sun-exposed parts of the face, often symmetrical across the cheeks, forehead, and upper lip. It is tied to sun and to hormones from pregnancy or birth control, and treatments include creams, chemical peels, microdermabrasion, and intense pulsed light, along with daily sunscreen.
Moles
Atypical moles, also called dysplastic nevi, look different from ordinary moles, with uneven borders and coloring that may run from pink to dark brown. They carry a higher melanoma risk, so a doctor should examine them, and a bothersome mole can be removed by surgical shave or excision.
Molluscum
Molluscum are smooth, pearly, flesh-colored bumps caused by a virus, often with a small central pit. They spread through contact and usually clear on their own within months to a year or two, but can be removed with creams, freezing, or scraping when they irritate or spread.
Nail Disease
Nail disease covers conditions that thicken, discolor, or make the nails sore, and it affects toenails more often than fingernails. Fungus is not always the cause; psoriasis, lichen planus, trauma, and yeast can be involved, and treatment relies on topical and oral medicines.
Perioral Dermatitis
Perioral dermatitis brings tiny red bumps and a burning feeling around the mouth, most often in young women, and itching is unusual. It is linked to facial steroid creams and some cosmetics, and it can be stubborn, usually treated with an oral antibiotic over several months.
Poisonous Plants
Poison ivy, oak, and sumac release an oil called urushiol that sets off an allergic rash in most people who touch it. The itchy, sometimes blistering rash starts a day or two after contact, and antihistamines, cortisone creams, or, in severe cases, oral steroids ease it.
Psoriasis
Psoriasis produces red, scaly patches that often appear on the elbows, knees, and scalp and can itch, burn, or sting. It is an immune-driven disease, and a wide range of treatments, up to biologic medications, can control it.
Rash
Rash is a broad term for many skin changes that show up as red patches, small bumps, or blisters. A rash can be a sign of conditions like eczema, contact dermatitis, or a fungal infection, and one that does not clear on its own should be checked.
Rosacea
Rosacea is a long-term condition that brings facial redness, visible small vessels, and acne-like bumps, sometimes with a burning feeling or a reddened nose. Common triggers include sun, heat, stress, spicy food, and alcohol, and treatments include topicals, oral antibiotics, and light or laser therapy.
Scabies
Scabies comes from microscopic mites that burrow into the top layer of skin and lay eggs, producing an intensely itchy rash that is often worse at night. Symptoms can take weeks to appear while still spreading, and treatment pairs medication with hot-washing bedding, clothing, and towels.
Seborrheic Dermatitis
Seborrheic dermatitis is a common condition that brings a red, scaly, itchy rash to the scalp, sides of the nose, eyebrows, ears, and mid-chest. It is linked to oily skin and a yeast-like organism, and is controlled with medicated shampoos, cortisone creams, or anti-yeast medicines.
Seborrheic Keratosis
Seborrheic keratoses are harmless brown, black, or yellow growths that can be flat or slightly raised and appear alone or in clusters. They tend to run in families and need no treatment unless one changes quickly or is irritating, when cryosurgery, electrosurgery, or curettage can remove it.
Skin Cancer (Basal Cell Carcinoma, Melanoma, Squamous Cell Carcinoma)
Skin cancer falls mainly into three types: basal cell and squamous cell carcinoma, which rarely spread, and melanoma, the most serious. Moles that change in size, color, or border deserve prompt attention; caught early, skin cancer is highly curable, and treatments range up to Mohs surgery.
Read the full Skin Cancer (Basal Cell Carcinoma, Melanoma, Squamous Cell Carcinoma) page
Sun Damage
Sun damage adds up over years of UV exposure, showing as dark spots, uneven tone, fine lines, deep wrinkles, and thickened, leathery skin, and it can lead to precancers. Past damage cannot be reversed, but treatments such as retinoids, chemical peels, intense pulsed light, and laser resurfacing can help.
Tinea Versicolor
Tinea versicolor comes from a yeast on the skin and shows up as lighter or darker patches, most often on the chest and back. Common in adolescence, it is treated with antifungal or dandruff shampoos, creams, or oral medicine, though it often returns and normal color takes months to come back.
Vitiligo
Vitiligo develops when the immune system destroys the cells that make pigment, leaving white patches on the skin. It often appears on sun-exposed areas or body folds and usually starts between ages 10 and 40. There is no cure, but steroid creams or ultraviolet light therapy can improve it.
Warts
Warts are non-cancerous growths caused by the human papillomavirus in the upper layers of skin. Several kinds exist, including common warts on the hands, plantar warts on the soles, flat warts, and genital warts, and treatments include salicylic acid, cryotherapy, and laser.
