DEAR DR. GOTT: I am writing in response to your recent column in which a reader inquired about itchy skin. I see a dermatologist each year for a skin check, and I am familiar with various disorders. Last spring and summer, I had itchy skin and scalp for months. I was using tubes of over-the-counter cortisone preparations to relieve the symptoms. No doctor could figure out the cause. In August, I was diagnosed with end-stage renal disease. All the nurses and patients in the dialysis center were familiar with itchy skin. High levels of phosphorus is the cause. If people with diabetes and/or hypertension have itchy skin, I think a doctor might want to check the person's blood urea nitrogen and creatinine levels. DEAR READER: Without question. Along with severe kidney disease, itchy skin also can be the result of blood abnormalities, such as polycythemia (blood that is too thick).

Recent Chinese Study Validates Controversial Acne Treatment

(PRLEAP.COM) In 2003, Naweko Nicole Dial, founder of the San Diego based research firm Noixia, argued that malnurishment, among other factors, could cause or worsen acne. Even though medical associations like the American Academy of Dermatology denounce the link between food and acne, Dial's unothodox approach to treating acne continues to get validated by ongoing medical studies. This time, the support came from China. In January, Chinese researchers examined the faces of 1787 women between the ages of 18 and 65 and published their findings in Skin Research and Technology. Upon examining the women, the researchers found a significant link between oily skin and the consumption of spicy or sweet food. Dial notes, “The information provided by the researcher in China goes one step further in legitimizing the link between food and acne.” Dial reflects, “Much of the controversy about food and acne emerges from the chocalate and acne tests that started in the late sixties that observed no link between eating chocalate and the onset of acne.” Dial explains, “The concept that “food causes acne is a myth” has persisted for so long because the medical community has not taken an individualized look at the causes of acne” As Dial explained in her book, Acne Messages: Crack the Code of Your Zits and Say Goodbye to Acne” people have acne because they are still living with their unique acne trigger.

Does your skin need a shrink?

"At first, I thought it was the latex paint or the cats or something environmental," says Russ, 32, of Brooklyn, N.Y. "So I went to a doctor who told me to take antihistamines."

While Russ didn't realize it, she'd stumbled onto the powerful mind-body connection that is at the heart of an emerging field known as psychodermatology. Focusing on the boundary between psychiatry and dermatology, psychodermatologists (or "skin shrinks") care for the skin and the soul, dovetailing traditional treatments like antibiotics or topical medications with alternative methods such as relaxation, biofeedback, self-hypnosis or psychotherapy.