HEALTHY CHOICES: Protecting Your Skin

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 purposes • Protections • Sensation • Temperature Regulation • 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 dermis • Sweat glands produce perspiration when our body is hot • Blood vessels dilate to release heat • When 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 body • Melanoma 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

HEALTHY CHOICES: Protecting Your Skin