When you think about your body’s organs, what comes to mind first? Probably the brain, the heart, maybe the lungs or kidneys? But how often do we actually stop and think about our skin? It’s the largest organ in our body, yet it often gets the least attention.
We’re way more likely to admire a neurosurgeon or a heart surgeon than a plastic surgeon, right? But here’s the thing: our skin is the real MVP. It’s the protective barrier that keeps everything else safe and functioning. It’s like the unsung hero of our bodies.
So, why do we overlook it so much? Let’s give some love to the skin we’re in—it’s working overtime for us, and we should probably be taking better care of it!
And hey, if you’re curious about the stuff that can go wrong with our skin, keep reading. I’ve got a rundown of 10 skin diseases you should know about because taking care of your skin means understanding what can happen to it!
1. Vitiligo
Vitiligo is a skin condition that causes patches of your skin to lose colour. This happens when the cells responsible for producing pigment (called melanocytes) stop making melanin, the stuff that gives your skin, hair, and eyes their colour.
As a result, your skin can end up looking lighter than your natural tone. While vitiligo can affect anyone, it tends to be more noticeable in people with darker skin. It often starts with small white patches on areas like the hands, face, or genitals.
The good news? Vitiligo isn’t contagious or life-threatening. The bad news is that it can really affect a person’s self-esteem, especially in countries like India, where there is an obsession with the colour of your skin, and it poses a unique challenge.
The causes? It could be an autoimmune disorder, stress, exposure to certain chemicals, or it could even run in the family.
There’s no cure for vitiligo, but there are cosmetic treatments that can help manage the appearance of the patches.
2. Eczema or Atopic Dermatitis
Atopic dermatitis, or eczema, is a chronic skin condition that makes your skin dry, itchy, and sometimes thickened, crusty, or scaly. If you have light skin, it usually shows up as a red rash, while it appears brown, purple, or grey on darker skin.
It’s more common in kids but can pop up at any age. It tends to be something you deal with long-term, though it can flare up now and then when symptoms get worse.
The exact cause isn’t clear, but you’re more likely to get it if you have a family history of it or if you or your parents have asthma or hay fever.
There’s no cure for atopic eczema, but the good news is it’s not contagious, so you can’t catch it or spread it. Thankfully, there are treatments out there that can help you manage the symptoms and make things more comfortable.
3. Contact Dermatitis
Contact dermatitis happens when your skin reacts to something it’s come into direct contact with—like an allergen or irritant. It typically shows up as an itchy rash or sometimes even blisters, bumps, and swelling with redness.
Your skin might be sensitive to perfumes, scented soaps, hair products, hand sanitisers, rubber, bleach, or metals like silver. It usually clears up on its own, but the symptoms can be super annoying—and even painful at times.
The best thing to do is figure out what triggered the reaction and try to avoid it in the future. If your skin’s irritated, wash the area with mild soap and water, and you can take an antihistamine to help with allergy symptoms.
4. Psoriasis
Psoriasis is an autoimmune skin condition that causes inflammation, leading to itchy, scaly patches on your skin. The patches can vary in size and colour, and there are five main types of psoriasis:
Plaque psoriasis – This is the most common type, making up 80% to 90% of cases. It creates scaly, raised patches (or plaques) that usually show up on your elbows, knees, back, and scalp.
Pustular psoriasis – Postural Psoriasis, as the tin says, is rare and causes pus-filled blisters on the skin.
Guttate psoriasis – Typically affects children or young adults and shows up as small, drop-like spots on the skin.
Inverse psoriasis – This causes shiny, red patches in the skin folds, like in your groin, armpits, buttocks, or under your breasts.
Nail psoriasis – It can cause your nails to change colour or become misshapen, affecting your fingernails or toenails.
Erythrodermic psoriasis – A severe and rare form that covers your entire body, making your skin look burned.
Psoriasis is a chronic condition; while there’s no cure, treatments can help manage the symptoms and flare-ups.
5. Lupus
Lupus is an autoimmune disease in which the body’s immune system attacks its organs and tissues. It causes inflammation affecting different body parts like your skin, joints, blood, kidneys, lungs, brain and heart.
It can cause a mix of symptoms that differ in severity, but the most common is a sort of rash that looks like the wings of a butterfly across the face. The other symptoms are joint pain, fatigue, fever, chest pain, shortness of breath, dry eyes, headaches or hair loss.
The exact cause of lupus is still unknown, but it’s usually triggered by genetics, exposure to sunlight, infections, or certain medications. Even though anyone can develop lupus, people of colour are at a higher risk, with the risk being even higher for women. Nine out of 10 people with lupus are women.
Lupus is a chronic condition that currently has no cure, but there are treatments available to manage symptoms and avoid flare-ups.
6. Rosacea
Rosacea is a long-term inflammatory skin condition that causes redness on the face. It is mostly common in women and people with lighter skin.
Even though the symptoms can vary from one person to another, facial redness resembling a blush or sunburn is the earliest sign. There could also be small red bumps or pimples that may resemble acne. You may feel a burning sensation or itchiness; in some cases, the skin could become thick and dry, and there may even be swelling.
There could be several triggers for rosacea that can cause the symptoms to flare, such as sun exposure, hot or cold temperatures, spicy foods, alcohol, skin or hair products, stress, or hormonal changes.
There’s no cure for rosacea, but the symptoms can be managed, and treatments can help minimise the discomfort.
7. Cold sores
Cold sores are a common viral infection that can spread from close person-to-person contact, like kissing. This is caused by a virus called herpes simplex (HSV). They are small, red, fluid-filled, painful bumps that form around the mouth. There are usually several stages, and before the blisters form, there might be itching or a burning sensation around the mouth.
Cold sores usually last around two weeks or less. Apart from the blisters, you may also experience fever, swollen lymph nodes and muscle aches. But if your symptoms are more severe, you should go see a doctor. Especially if you have eye symptoms, the HSV could cause permanent vision loss.
Cold sores are extremely contagious, especially when you have oozing blisters, but the virus can also spread even when you don’t have blisters.
You can have the virus, but fever, hormonal changes, stress, skin injury or sun exposure could trigger cold sores. There is no cure for cold sores, but treatment is available to manage outbreaks and help your sores heal more quickly.
8. Ringworm
Ringworm is a fungal skin infection that causes a circular or ring-shaped rash to form on the skin. The patch may appear red on lighter skin and brown on darker skin. The rash resembles an itchy, scaly patch with defined edges.
Ringworm can pop up in different places on your body and go by other names depending on where it appears—like on your hands, scalp, beard, groin, buttocks, feet, or nails.
It's super common and very contagious. It can spread from person to person, animal to person (cats and dogs are big culprits), from objects to humans (think public showers!), or even from infected soil.
While ringworm often clears up within a few weeks, it's a good idea to treat it with the proper medication and keep yourself isolated until it’s gone to prevent spreading the infection to others.
9. Basal cell carcinoma
Basal cell carcinoma is a type of skin cancer which is the most common. It can appear as a pink or red, shiny, slightly transparent bump or patch. On darker skin, it can appear more brown or black and resemble a mole.
Basal cell carcinoma usually develops on areas of your body that are exposed to the sun, especially your head and neck. Chronic sun exposure, radiation therapy, tanning beds, exposure to arsenic, immune-suppressing drugs or family history could be potential risk factors.
Even with successful treatment, there’s always a chance of basal cell carcinoma coming back, and it could also increase your risk of developing other types of skin cancer in the future.
While we can’t completely prevent basal cell carcinoma, we can take steps to reduce the risk—like wearing SPF year-round, avoiding sun exposure during peak hours, skipping tanning beds, and doing a self-exam every month to check for any unusual lumps or moles. Taking care of your skin now can make a big difference down the line!
10. Squamous cell carcinoma
Squamous cell carcinoma(SCC) is the second most common type of skin cancer. The good news is, if caught early, most SCCs are curable. They can show up as red scaly patches, open sores or raised growths.
SCC usually develops on areas of your body that get a lot of sun, but it can also form in places like the inner lining of your organs and body cavities, such as your mouth, lungs, and anus.
Anyone can get SCC, but you’re more at risk if you’ve had a lot of sun exposure, have lighter skin (especially if you have blond or red hair, light-coloured eyes, or freckles), use tanning beds, have a weakened immune system, or are over 50. Keep an eye on your skin and get checked out if anything seems off!
While skin conditions like these might seem overwhelming, the good news is that most of them can be managed with the right treatment and care. Understanding what’s going on with your skin is the first step to handling it, and there are plenty of ways to help ease symptoms and improve your quality of life.
Don’t ignore any changes in your skin, and if you’re ever unsure, it’s always a good idea to talk to a dermatologist. Your skin’s got your back, so take care of it!
Q. What are the layers of the skin?
A. Skin consists of a thin outer layer called the epidermis, a thicker middle layer called the dermis and a deeper layer called the hypodermis.
Q. Are cold sores always herpes?
A. Yes, cold sores are always caused by the herpes simplex virus.
Q. Is it possible to have a cold sore inside my mouth?
A. Yes, it is possible to have a cold sore inside your mouth, although it's more common to have it on your lips.
Q. Where on my body can I get squamous cell carcinoma?
A. You can have SCC on any part of your body, but it’s most common on your face, lips, nose, ears, eyelids, scalp, hands, arms, legs, mouth, tongue and throat and anal cavity.
Q. What is the difference between squamous cell carcinoma and basal cell carcinoma?
A. Squamous cell carcinomas can develop on your skin (epidermis) just like basal cell carcinoma. Still, they can also appear on mucus membranes in places like your mouth, throat, lungs, and genitals.
