Favus   This is sometimes spoken of as crusted ringworm. It is due to a parasite and is regarded as contagious. The susceptible skins are those that have lost their natural immunity; not all members of a community will get this complaint, which shows that there is a natural barrier to it. Individuals who suffer in this way are usually of poor nutrition, and urgent body-building measures are required in addition to the local treatment. It is characterized by a small saucer-shaped yellowish crust that forms around the hair follicles and may give off a musty odour.
HerpesEverybody is familiar with this eruption on the skin. It appears as a little group of vesicles that form but give no particular trouble. They are generally connected with an elevation of the bodily temperature, and often follow feverish colds, appearing around about the lips. These are sometimes called cold sores. Their appearance in children often indicates that there has been an unsuspected temperature. They clear up as the general condition of the body improves.
IchthyosisThis is sometimes called fish-skin and is a difficult condition to overcome. Some authorities are inclined to the view that it may be hereditary, but that is no reason for instituting despair in the patient. It is true that external applications are not of much avail, but a systematic health-building regimen should be adopted and carried out with great persistence. If neglected, the surface of the skin may become very hardened and wart-like growths may appear.
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The susceptibility to sun-induced damage also depends on one’s skin type. This is largely governed by the amount of pigment in the skin, and one’s ancestry. Those individuals with a darker skin have more protection than those with a fair skin. Similarly, those with skins that tan easily are more protected than those who burn rather than tan. Races with a black or brown akin are much less likely to suffer from sunlight-induced problems than the Caucasians, with their light-coloured skin; they are certainly not exempt, however, from the deleterious effects of prolonged sun exposure.

Ones ethnic origins therefore are most important in assessing the skin’s response to prolonged sun exposure. People of Celtic origin are statistically much more prone to irreversible sun damage. These tight-complexioned people, who are descendants of the Celtic natives of Britain. Scotland. Ireland and northern France, appear to have some biological defect which interferes with normal pigment production and the repair of sun-induced damage. Even amongst Celts, though, those who are blue-eyed and have a lighter complexion, red or blond hair and freckled skin, are more susceptible to sun damage than darker individuals of the same race.

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