Hey there, viewers!
Everyone wants healthy, glowing skin.
But are you working towards getting the glow you desire?
Did you know your skin can reveal dark secrets about your health?
It’s true!
Just by looking at your skin, experts can tell if you have problems.
Pretty wild, huh?
In today's video, we’ll be discussing various things your skin says about your health.
Can it signal Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome?
What about high cholesterol and diabetes?
We’ll be talking about all of this AND more...
Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS)
You might be hearing a lot about Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) recently.
It affects the hormonal levels in women, and has become a pretty common disorder these
days.
Ladies, did you know your skin can be a window into what’s happening inside your ovaries?
You heard that right!
Among the many symptoms of PCOS such as irregular periods and weight gain, your skin also gives
signals.
The most common being acne!
Not all acne is signaling PCOS, but the cystic ones can be a red flag.
If a woman has PCOS, then there’s a high level of male hormones called androgens which
stimulate the production of oil in the skin.
Excess oil secretion leads to acne.
Not just on the face, but on the back, neck and chest as well.
Along with acne, dark patches of skin can form in body creases like those on the neck,
in the groin and under the breasts.
Hold on, there’s more!
Excess hair growth on the face and body, including hairs on the back, belly and chest are also
a sign of PCOS.
While you have extra hair growing on the body, you might be losing it from your scalp.
Thinning of hairs is another major symptom of PCOS.
Do you or someone you know have PCOS?
How are you battling cystic acne?
Sound off in the comment section below, and start a conversation with our Bestie community…
Liver Disease
Did you ever think that your skin condition would indicate the health of your liver?
If you’ve ever had jaundice, you’d know your skin and the whites of your eyes turn
yellowish.
This is a sign of jaundice and can be a signal of hepatitis C.
Itchy skin is pretty common during winter.
But if it lasts for more than 6 weeks, it’s an indication of liver problems.
Itchy skin can be an early symptom of cirrhosis or hepatitis.
Bumps, rashes and itchy skin are some of the first signs of hepatitis.
You might even notice red marks on your legs.
Hypothyroidism
If you’ve tried all sorts of moisturising, and your skin is still very dry, it can be
a sign of hypothyroidism.
It affects your skin in various ways, making it coarse, dull, dry, pale and thin.
Your skin may appear ashy and very scaly due to intense dryness.
Another sign of hypothyroidism is brittle nails.
If you have thin nails that break easily along with dry, dull and coarse hair, you should
get your hormone levels tested.
You may also notice thickening of the skin on your calves.
All these skin issues will go away with proper thyroid treatment.
Allergies
Your skin is the first to signal any kind of allergy.
The most common sign of allergy is itching.
If you suddenly have intense and unbearable itching, you might be suffering from an allergic
reaction called hives.
These are itchy welts on the skin.
Hives are reddish and pink in color, and can sometimes sting or hurt.
It’s often an allergic reaction to something you’ve touched or swallowed.
This can be food, medicine, pollen, pets or an insect sting.
If you ever experience a sudden outbreak of itching, and you see reddish welts on your
skin, seek medical help immediately.
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Lymphoma
As sudden itching may indicate an allergy, persistent itchy rashes can signal lymph node
cancer, also known as lymphoma.
We know it's a bit shocking!
Rashes are the most common symptom particularly for lymphoma of skin.
These may occur as reddish or purplish scaly areas, and are common in skin folds.
Itchy rashes spread as lymphoma progresses.
You may even notice lumps or nodules in the skin, which are also a sign of lymphoma.
While itchy rashes are common in Hodgkin’s lymphoma, it’s less common in non-Hodgkin’s
lymphoma.
The itchiness can be so severe, it can affect your quality of life.
As the lymphoma advances, the itching becomes worse.
If any rash does not settle on its own after two weeks, you should visit your doctor.
Shingles
Have you ever had chicken pox?
Well that same virus can cause shingles.
This viral infection is marked by a red skin rash that can cause pain and burning.
The early signs of shingles are pain and burning on one side of the body, followed by a red
rash.
Depending on your skin tone, the rash may appear dark pink, dark brown, or even purple.
You’ll also notice blisters on one side of your body, particularly on the torso, neck
and face.
A rash on one side of your face means shingles on the face.
In severe cases, rashes can appear in your ears, which can create serious complications
like loss of hearing, and issues with your balance.
You may even observe swelling and redness around your eye, along with blistering rashes
on your eyelid with burning.
All these indicate shingles of the eye, which will need treatment ASAP!
Diabetes
Diabetes has become pretty common these days!
Among its many symptoms including extreme fatigue and frequent urination, your skin
is also giving away signals you might ignore.
Yup, your skin is affected by high blood sugar levels in several different ways.
To begin with, if you see light brown, almost circular, scaly patches around your shins,
it indicates elevated levels of blood sugar.
These patches are called “shin spots”.
High blood sugar damages the small blood vessels that supply oxygen and nutrition, which results
in these shin spots.
If there are large, circular patches with a red or violet border on your skin, particularly
on the legs, it's a red flag for diabetes.
You may feel pain and itching in these patches.
Another important and common signal for high blood sugar is a dark, tan patch of velvety
skin on the neck.
It also occurs on the armpit, elbows, knees and groin.
These velvety patches typically affect people who are obese.
Your skin on the hands, fingers and toes may become waxy, tight, thick and stiff on joints,
which is known as digital sclerosis.
Elevated blood sugar levels can lead to poor circulation and nerve damage.
It becomes hard for your body to heal wounds.
You should check your feet regularly, as they may develop open wounds called diabetic ulcers,
which are sometimes difficult to heal.
High blood sugar levels overall reduce your skin’s ability to fight infections.
If you see random cuts or sores, especially on the feet, you need to get your blood sugar
levels checked.
In addition to skin health, there are other signs of diabetes you need to look out for.
Check out our video on 16 signs your blood sugar is high, as well as 8 diabetes symptoms.
Now back to our discussion on skin health signals…
High Cholesterol
Your skin can tell you if you have high cholesterol.
How?
The cholesterol in your skin forms yellowish bumps known as xanthelasma (zanthel-asma).
These yellow deposits are usually found around your eyelids, and are a side effect of high
cholesterol.
You may see yellowish-white lumps of fatty material collecting under the skin around
your upper and lower eyelids.
This cholesterol deposit might affect your ability to blink, as well as open or close
your eyes.
This is a warning sign of elevated cholesterol levels.
Getting proper treatment on time can save you.
Lupus
Skin rash is very common.
But if it’s accompanied by round lesions, this can be a signal of cutaneous (cute-ainee-us)
lupus.
Cutaneous lupus is a chronic autoimmune disease, which primarily affects the skin.
You’ll probably notice coin-shaped lesions on your skin as well.
The skin rash is very severe, and may look red or pink.
Rashes can appear anywhere on the body, but more commonly on the scalp, neck, hands and
feet.
Sadly, sun exposure can make these rashes even worse.
So it's very important for people with lupus to apply sunscreen with an SPF of 70 or more
before going out in the sun.
Some other signs of cutaneous lupus are thinning and peeling of the skin, thick scales on the
scalp, blistering lesions on the elbows and fingertips, and skin pigmentation.
Would you like to learn about skin health?
Let’s keep the conversation going with a couple more videos, shall we?
Here’s what you need to know…
Check out 17 foods that are bad for your skin!
Or how about 16 secret tips for flawless skin they never tell you about?
Go ahead, click one.
Or better yet, watch both, and learn more tips for healthy skin.
Did you know about these skin signals before watching this video?
Let us know in the comments below!