The harm of smoking to the skin and aggravation of skin diseases

Most men have the habit of smoking, and many women also like to smoke. Everyone should be aware of the dangers of smoking. It not only harms the body but also causes damage to the skin. Especially for patients with skin diseases, smoking will aggravate their condition.

1. Psoriasis In recent years, some people have repeatedly proposed that smoking is a potential risk factor for psoriasis, and this view has been confirmed by many studies. Someone investigated the smoking habits of a group of psoriasis patients before the onset of the disease and compared them with local residents who were not suffering from the disease. The results showed that psoriasis was significantly correlated with smoking habits. Other reliable research results suggest that smoking is a risk factor for psoriasis, especially in women. Unlike drinking, the impact of drinking on psoriasis occurs after the onset of the disease, while the impact of smoking is manifested at the onset of the disease. In other words, smoking may be one of the triggers of psoriasis.

2. Palmoplantar pustulosis Palmoplantar pustulosis is a chronic, recurrent skin disease whose cause is currently unknown. Some people thought it was a variant or subtype of psoriasis, but it is now generally considered to be a separate disease. A foreign study on 216 cases of palmoplantar pustulosis and 626 cases of various other skin diseases as a control group showed that 80% of palmoplantar pustulosis patients were smokers at the onset of the disease, while only 36% of the control group were smokers. The results also showed that smokers were 7.2 times more likely to develop palmoplantar pustulosis than non-smokers.

3. Palm eczema: A foreign study on 153 patients with palm eczema found three related risk factors, namely taking aspirin, taking birth control pills and smoking. The impact of smoking on palm eczema is mainly seen in men. Smoking plays a role in the occurrence, treatment and recurrence of this disease, causing the eczema on the palms to persist.

4. Deck changes: The skin and nails of smokers' fingers are dyed yellow, which is called the "nicotine mark". Long-term smoking can cause progressive bending and unevenness of the nails and atrophy of the nail soft tissue, which is called "broken nails" or "claw nails". If a long-term smoker suddenly quits smoking or stops smoking due to a sudden illness, a clear dividing line will appear between the distal pigmented nail and the proximal new non-pigmented nail. This line is called "variegated nail". The date when smoking cessation occurred can be calculated by measuring the distance between the proximal nail fold and the dividing line.