Volume 5, Number 2

Helen Perfect RGN Specialist Dermatology Nurse, Dermatology Outpatient Department, Amersham Hospital

Actinic keratoses (AKs) are hyperkeratotic lesions which appear, mainly in fair-skinned adults, as a result of chronic sun exposure. They have a low risk of progressing into squamous cell carcinoma.1 It is, however, currently not possible to predict which will progress and so early diagnosis and treatment is important.

Nick Evans BSc Programme Director, Action on Dermatology, NHS Modernisation Agency

Action on Dermatology was established in September 2000 as one of three NHS initiatives intended to explore the problems faced by particular specialties and to find solutions to them. The other two specialties which will benefit from these schemes are ear, nose and throat and orthopaedics. The aim of each programme is to support staff in developing uniformly excellent, effective and accessible services, across the country. Easily said!

Jean Robinson RGN RSCN BSc (Hons) Specialist Practice Children’s Community Nursing, Clinical Nurse Specialist, Dermatology Children’s Services, Bart’s and The London NHS Trust

Atopic eczema is common and its prevalence is increasing.1 The main carers of children with atopic eczema are their parents and treatment is generally given at home. It is essential that parents be empowered to carry out this care through the acquisition of information on practical care. Good communication is an integral part of good nursing practice and is vital to the process.

Anna Rich RN Dip ENB N18 Leg Ulcer Liaison Sister in the Dermatology Directorate at Queen’s Medical Centre, Nottingham

A Doppler ultrasound test measures the arterial blood supply to the lower legs. The results from the procedure can be used to help detect the presence of arterial disease. Anna Rich RN Dip ENB N18 Leg Ulcer Liaison Sister in the Dermatology Directorate at Queen’s Medical Centre, Nottingham, explains how it is done

Jos Lablans RN MSc Health Science Chair of the Dutch Association of Dermatology Nurses and Allied Healthcare Workers, Executive Manager, Scheper Ziekenhuis Emmen

In the Netherlands, our healthcare system, job content, grading system and education system differ from the health services in Britain. Patients of different nationalities will present themselves in similar ways, but cultural differences will mean there are significant variations in practice.

Brenda Smith RGN Sister; Linda Buick RGN ENB N25 Senior Staff Nurse; Sandra Rossi RGN (Dip) BSc Staff Nurse, Photodynamic Therapy Unit, Department of Dermatology, Falkirk Royal Infirmary

Several skin diseases are now benefiting from the development of photodynamic therapy (PDT). An exciting alternative treatment to conventional therapies, it involves the accumulation of a photosensitising drug within diseased tissue, often a tumour, followed by the targeting of light on the affected area. In oxygenated tissue, this triggers a light-chemical interaction, the photodynamic reaction which produces oxygen radicals, especially within the mitochondria, which destroy tumour cells.1

David Mantle FRSC FRCPath Chemical Pathologist; Thomas WJ Lennard MD FRCS Consultant Surgeon, Department of Surgery, Medical School, University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne

Approximately one third of traditional medicines are for the treatment of wounds or skin disorders, whereas in contrast only 1–3% of modern drugs have been developed to treat such disorders. In this article, adverse and beneficial aspects of medicinal plants relating to skin and skin disorders have been reviewed, based on information recently available from the peer-reviewed scientific literature.

Rosemary Turnbull RSCN BSc (Hons) ENB N25 998 870 EN Paediatric Dermatology Specialist Nurse, Chelsea & Westminster Hospital

The World Health Organization defines adolescence as ‘being between 10 and 19 years and youth being 15 and 24 years’.1 As the period of transition from childhood to adulthood, adolescence is a time of dramatic physical and psychological change for young people.