Skin

It's going to get cold again this weekend and the perfect time to winterize your skin. Frigid temperatures, dry hair, high home heat and winter sun can wreak havoc on your skin. If you don't fend off the damage you'll be looking at botox by the time your 30. The National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) suggest that at least 81 million Americans experience dry, itchy or scaly skin during the winter months. Johns Hopkins professor Dr. Rebecca A. Kazin has tips to keeping skin healthy.

After 10 years in business, the staff of Medical Skin Therapeutics knows how to adapt and keep current in the ever-evolving medical spa market. “We try to reach people of all ages and skin types,” says Paulina Collins, a registered nurse and licensed esthetician who founded the spa with its director, Dr. Warren Ross. “This is an ever-changing business for one thing, and we're always trying to keep up with current trends. Right now, a really big service is laser hair removal.” The Ellicott City medi-spa, which celebrated its 10th anniversary in November, offers services like Botox, facials, permanent makeup and more.

The Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene issued a warning Tuesday about skin creams that may contain mercury.  One of those creams, Crema Aguamary, has been linked to one case of mercury poisoning in the state. It was purchased in Mexico and used by somebody in Maryland. Mercury in skin creams can cause memory problems and problems with the nervous system, kidneys, skin, blood pressure, and digestive tract, according to state health officials. Unborn babies, infants and children are especially sensitive to the effects of mercury.  The U.S. Food and Drug Administration prohibits the sale of skin-bleaching products containing mercury in the United States.  Products that contain the ingredients mercury, mercurio, mercuric, mercurous, or calomel should not be used, DHMH cautioned.

The other three NFC East teams might have celebrity quarterbacks and they may have started the season with high playoff expectations, but in the season's opening act, it's the Redskins who've quickly stolen the division spotlight. With a 2-0 record and sole possession of the NFC East lead, the Redskins have roared out of the starting gate to the surprise of many — but certainly not all. "Nothing really has surprised me," Redskins coach Mike Shanahan said of his team's first two games.

Thanks to Maryland Public Television for scheduling the airing of "Under our Skin" ("MPT airing deeply flawed film about Lyme disease," June 19). A controversy in medicine is not a new thing, and the push to stop the airing of this film is quite telling. It's great to know that MPT is still in the business of free speech. Bravo. K. Meyer, Vienna, Va.

Maryland Public Television is set to air a polemical film about Lyme disease that is built on fear-provoking speculations and assertions while advancing a central message that has been discredited by experts in infectious diseases. Despite being apprised of the film's serious flaws, MPT has "Under Our Skin: A Health Care Nightmare" on its afternoon schedule for June 26. Other stations throughout the Public Broadcasting Service also have "Under Our Skin: on their schedules; some already aired it. The program was distributed free to stations by the National Educational Telecommunications Association.

Janet Gilbert's column "The college we visited was mighty nice … and mighty white" (June 16) is a good example of racism. The student population was judged on skin color alone. Ms. Gilbert has taught her child to see only color. The wonderful diversity of cultures such as Greek, Italian, Hungarian, English, Canadian, French, Irish, Scottish, Norwegian, Polish, Czech, Swedish and Finnish — plus the many combinations thereof — were completely ignored. Hopefully, her children will be wise enough to see beyond skin color.

Our current preoccupation with naked congressmen has given new meaning to the phrase "body politic," and I am not sure if we have learned anything about how to handle this subject since President John F. Kennedy was photographed jogging out of the sea in bathing trunks about 50 years ago. Granted, New York Congressman Anthony Weiner sending naked pictures of himself to women he has never met is a far cry from the sneaked photos of a shirtless Barack...

I’ll admit, I don’t think I’ve ever stepped foot into a LUSH store.  I always found the stores to be a wee bit intimidating, and I didn't know much about the store. The other day, a box of LUSH products showed up for me to try. It’s kind of like food: if you put it in front of me, I’ll probably try it. That, and when I mentioned I received Lush products to any of my friends they all kind of freaked out, so I figured I’d been missing something. First of all, I had no idea that Lush had such an enviro-friendly mission, which is great.

Because the United States has no military draft — and hasn't had one since Vietnam, the one and only war stopped by popular protest — the politicians and corporations running this country continue to do as they please. They might even launch a ground war in Libya next. What's to stop them? Public opinion? Surveys show that a majority of citizens think we should get out of Iraq and Afghanistan, and that Pentagon spending should be cut. But those sentiments are at direct odds with reality, and only a tiny fraction of Americans are willing to take to the streets.