Your Skin on Drugs — New Tool From RxISK.org

Free online tool to research and report prescription drug side effects on skin and nails

Toronto, Canada (PRWEB) January 21, 2013

Crime TV fans know how easily drugs can be detected by skin and nail analysis, says Dr. Dee Mangin, Data Based Medicines Chief Medical Officer and McMaster Universitys David Braley Nancy Gordon Chair of Family Medicine. However, in real life we often dont make the connection between the prescription drugs we take and their effects on our bodies.

Arsenic, the poison of choice for inheritance-minded spouses in the 19th century, was actually more commonly used in the cosmetic sense to lighten skin color and whiten eyes. Unfortunately, one could easily get the dosage wrong and pay the ultimate price for beauty.

Today, skin-bleaching drugs are one of the biggest sellers in the world, and are linked to blood cancers such as leukemia and cancers of the liver and kidneys, as well as a severe skin condition called ochronosis, a form of hyper-pigmentation that causes the skin to turn a dark purple shade.

Oral contraceptives are an even bigger seller. However, many of these are advertised and sold for their beneficial effects on skin rather than for contraception. They can produce clearer skin, but, as a recent issue of Cosmopolitan reports in the article My Skin Was Addicted to the Pill, stopping them can cause rebound acne that no make-up can overcome.

Antibiotics used to treat acne can cause sun-induced skin darkening and nail bed lifting. Other antibiotics, contraceptives, and diuretics can also cause skin darkening. Blood pressure medications can cause sun rashes and other problems.

Skin side effects may not be seen as medically serious or life threatening and therefore less likely to be reported, but their effects can be devastating to an individual. Your skin is the face you present to the world, says Dr. Mangin. So if theres a link to one of the drugs youre on, thats important information for you to have and to share with others.

The Skin Zone has been designed so that people can easily look up and report the effects of prescription drugs on their skin and nails.

There is currently no other forum for people around the world to share information like this with each other. Doctors are trained to regard reactions like this as medically mild and patients may not make the link to medicatiions, says Dr. Mangin.

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Your Skin on Drugs — New Tool From RxISK.org