Cryotherapy

Leave a comment Posted on Pain Management

Can you stand the cold? Cryotherapy may help your aches and pains

Cryotherapy

Cryotherapy



We know cold in Minnesota. But not minus 220 degrees Celsius cold.

That’s how cold it gets in a whole-body cryotherapy chamber at Quick Fix Cryotherapy in St. Cloud.

You know how you’re supposed to ice sore muscles? Consider this the extreme version of that, says co-owner Denise Molesky. She uses temperatures well below zero to help treat what ails you. Clients say it can help rehabilitate after an injury, improve sleep and help skin conditions.

“It’s a crazy concept, but it really is an efficient way to push inflammation out and help manage pain,” Molesky said.

It’s being used by many professional sports, including the NFL and NBA.

“These are taking the place of the ice baths in the locker rooms all over the country,” Molesky said. “And now, it’s probably the biggest trending item in 2018 for wellness.”

Doctors are prescribing fewer opioids because of the addiction epidemic, and so people are looking for new pain management methods.

Read the full article here

Leave a comment Posted on A to Z of Medical Conditions, Skin conditions

Actinic keratoses – what are the signs, symptoms, causes and treatments of solar or actinic keratoses

Actinic keratoses

Actinic keratoses

Actinic keratoses, also known as solar keratoses, are dry scaly patches of skin caused by damage from years of sun exposure.

The patches can be pink, red or brown in colour, and can vary in size from a few millimetres to a few centimetres across. The skin in affected areas can sometimes become very thick, and occasionally the patches can look like small horns or spikes.

Actinic keratoses are found on areas of skin that are exposed to the sun, such as the:

face, especially the nose and forehead

forearms and backs of hands

in men, on the rims of the ears and bald scalps

in women, on the legs below the knees

The patches are usually harmless and sometimes get better on their own, but they can be sore, itchy and look unsightly. There is also a small risk that the patches could develop into a type of skin cancer called squamous cell carcinoma if they’re not treated.

You should see your GP if you think you may have actinic keratoses, so they can discuss treatment options with you.

Who is affected

Actinic keratoses are most commonly seen in fair-skinned people, especially those with blue eyes, red hair, freckles and a tendency to burn easily in the sun. Men are affected more often than women.

People who have lived or worked abroad in a sunny place, or who have worked outdoors or enjoy outdoor hobbies, are most at risk.

It may take many years before actinic keratoses develop – they don’t usually appear before the age of 40.

Studies carried out in the UK have suggested that around one in every four or five people over the age of 60 has actinic keratoses.

Diagnosing actinic keratoses

Your GP may be able to diagnose actinic keratoses by examining the patches on your skin.

In some cases, the diagnosis may need to be confirmed by removing a small sample of skin and examining it under the microscope.

Actinic keratoses can often be managed by your GP, but you may need to see a skin specialist (dermatologist) for further assessment if:

your GP is not certain about your diagnosis

your GP thinks one or more of your patches may be cancerous or at a high risk of becoming cancerous

your patches are particularly severe or widespread

you are taking immunosuppressant drugs – for example, following an organ transplant

your patches have not responded to treatment

Treatment options

If the patches are not troublesome, your doctor may simply recommend that you keep an eye on them and come back if they change in any way – for example, if you develop new symptoms such as a patch growing quickly, bleeding or forming an ulcer.

However, actinic keratoses are often removed because of concerns they may develop into skin cancer (see below) or, less commonly, for cosmetic reasons.

The patches can be removed using a variety of treatments, depending on your individual circumstances. The main treatments used are summarised below.

Creams or gels

There are a number of creams and gels that can be applied to the skin if you have several patches. Commonly used treatments include 5-fluorouracil cream, imiquimod cream, diclofenac gel and ingenol mebutate gel.

These creams and gels are usually applied daily (washing your hands carefully after), often for several weeks, and they cause the abnormal skin cells to die. They may make the skin sore, and it may weep and blister after a few days of treatment.

The various creams and gels seem to be similarly effective in treating actinic keratoses, although the potential side effects and the length of time that treatment is needed differs between each of them. Not all are easily available.

Discuss the benefits and risks of the different creams and gels available with your GP before starting treatment.

Freezing with liquid nitrogen (cryotherapy)

In some cases, freezing the patches (cryotherapy) may be recommended. This causes blistering and shedding of the sun-damaged areas of skin.

The time it takes the skin to heal varies, depending on the areas of the body treated. Some areas may heal in a week or two, whereas others may take a few months to fully heal.

A light freeze usually leaves no scar, but thicker lesions or early skin cancer may need longer freezes, which can leave a permanently pale or dark mark.

Scraping (curettage) 

Curettage is where the abnormal patches are scraped off with a sharp spoon-like instrument called a curette. This procedure is done under a local anaesthetic (where the treated area is numbed) and is generally used to treat thicker patches and early skin cancers, or to help confirm a diagnosis.

Cautery (heat treatment) is used to stop any bleeding after the cells have been removed. A scab forms after the procedure, which heals over a few weeks to leave a small scar.

The scrapings that are removed can be examined under the microscope to confirm the diagnosis.

Cutting it out (excision)

If your doctor suspects the patch may be cancerous or pre-cancerous, they may cut it out using a scalpel under local anaesthetic and close the wound with stitches. The piece of skin is then examined under the microscope to confirm the diagnosis.

Removing the patch will leave a permanent scar.

Other treatments

There are also a number of other treatments that may be effective in treating actinic keratoses, including:

photodynamic therapy (PDT) – where light is shone onto the affected area of skin after a light-activated cream has been applied; the light activates this cream and causes it to form a chemical that kills the abnormal cells

laser resurfacing – where a laser beam is used to remove the abnormal patches of skin

dermabrasion – where specially-designed abrasive instruments are used to remove the abnormal patches

chemical peels – where a corrosive liquid is applied to the affected area of skin to remove the abnormal patches

However, these treatments are not in widespread use and there is no clear evidence that they offer any additional benefit.

Self-help

It is important to protect your skin from the sun if you have actinic keratoses. This can reduce the risk of further patches developing and may help reduce the number of patches you already have.

To protect yourself from the sun, you should:

apply sunscreen with a sun protection factor (SPF) of at least 15 before exposing yourself to direct sunlight

cover up your skin with clothes and a hat during the summer months

try to avoid direct exposure to the sun when it is at its strongest (between 11am and 3pm)

It may also be helpful to regularly use emollients on your skin to stop it becoming dry.

Outlook

Actinic keratoses that have been treated usually go away, but it is likely that more patches will develop, requiring further treatment.

The development of actinic keratoses is a sign that the underlying skin is damaged from many years of sun exposure, and this cannot be reversed. It means you have a higher than average risk of developing skin cancer.

However, the exact chances of actinic keratoses developing into skin cancer are not clear. Some research has suggested the chances of a patch becoming cancerous are less than 1 in 1,000 every year, whereas other studies suggest the overall chances of actinic keratoses becoming cancerous may be as high as 1 in 10.

Leave a comment Posted on Cancer

Eye cancer – Do You Know the Signs of Ocular Melanoma?

Melanoma is a particular kind of cancer — one that develops in the cells that produce the pigment which colors your skin, hair, and eyes. It most commonly develops in the skin, but in rare instances, it can develop in the eyes, as well.

Do You Know the Signs of Ocular Melanoma?

Do You Know the Signs of Ocular Melanoma?


The form of melanoma that develops in the eyes, known as ocular melanoma, is the most common cancer of the eye in adults. According to the Ocular Melanoma Foundation, it is diagnosed in approximately 2,500 adults every year in the United States. People with light skin and eye colors, and people over 50 years of age are at the greatest risk, but all races or ages can develop ocular melanoma.


As with many other cancers, ocular melanoma, or OM, is malignant, meaning if left untreated it can metastasize, or spread to other parts of the body. Once this happens, OM becomes much more difficult to control, and is often fatal.

As with many cancers, OM is not well-understood. It can grow in the uveal tract, which comprises three areas of the eye: the iris, the ciliary body, and the choroid uvea. The iris is the colored part of the eye. It is the least likely to be the origin of OM, but often gives the best prognosis. The choroid uvea is an area filled with blood vessels between the retina and the white part of the eye, and the part of the eye where melanoma is more likely to form. The ciliary body, which produces the aqueous humor inside the eye, is less likely, but OM can occur in any of these parts, or sometimes more than one simultaneously.

The Signs of Ocular Melanoma

Unfortunately, sometimes OM can develop without any overt symptoms. The signs you should watch for include:

  • Loss of peripheral vision, or loss of vision in the center of the eye
  • Blurred or fuzzy vision in one eye
  • Seeing specks floating in your field of vision
  • The sensation of flashing lights
  • A change in the shape of your pupil (the dark circle in the center) of your eye
  • A dark spot in the iris (colored part) of your eye that seems to be increasing in size
  • Glaucoma (high pressure inside the eye). A painful, red eye, often with blurred vision can be a sign not only of glaucoma, but of OM.
  • The first sign is sometimes the development of cancer in other parts of the body, like the bones, lungs, or liver.

The often hidden nature of OM is yet another reason to get a comprehensive eye exam every year just to be certain everything is okay with your eyes. Of course, if you have any of the above symptoms, you should see a doctor at any point of the year. Sudden changes in vision are always a sign for a visit to a medical professional.

On certain occasions, your doctor may not see the need to treat a small eye melanoma immediately, if it doesn’t seem to be growing. Once it is clearly growing, or begins to cause complications, it may be time to begin treatment.

Treatments for Ocular Melanoma

As with other forms of cancer, there are a number of methods used to treat OM, some of them fairly specific to this type of melanoma.

Surgery is often used to remove small melanomas, just as with other types of tumors. The melanoma is cut away, along with a small bit of healthy tissue, in the hope the tumor will not grow back. When the melanoma is larger or is causing the patient great pain, sometimes the entire eye has to be removed, and eventually replaced with a prosthetic eye, which is colored to look like the original eye.

Radiation therapy uses proton rays or gamma rays to kill cancer cells. This is best used for smaller or medium sized melanomas. Often, the radiation is administered by putting a radioactive object directly over the tumor itself, secured by temporary stitches. This object is held over the eye for several days before being removed.

Radiation can also be administered through actual beams directly into the eye, over a process that usually takes several days.

Lasers are often used to cut even more finely than a scalpel, and can sometimes be used to kill tumors. A special kind of infrared laser is sometimes used along with radiation therapy to treat OM.

Cryotherapy, or treatment using extreme cold, is a rare way to treat small eye melanomas.

As with any form of cancer, the best course is always to find it and treat it as soon as possible. Get regular checkups, both with your eye doctor and with your general doctor to make sure your eyes, and the rest of you, are as healthy as they can possibly be.

 

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Laura O’Donnell writes smart content on behalf of the eye doctors at EyeCare 20/20. As an avid writer and learner, she loves to use her skills for engaging others in important topics in creative and effective ways. When she is not working, she loves meeting new people, traveling, and bringing her Pinterest dreams to life. Find her on LinkedIn.