DEAR DR. DONOHUE: My 25-year-old son has a problem with shaving. He breaks out in a painful rash every time he shaves, especially in his neck area. Do you have any suggestions? – J.M.

ANSWER: I do if he has tightly curled facial hair. When such hair is shaved, it springs back toward the skin and penetrates it. The hair becomes a foreign body that incites inflammation. Pimple-like bumps arise. The neck is the place where this most often happens. The bumps are called razor bumps.

Your son ought not to shave for a week or more. While he’s letting the beard grow, he should wash his whiskers with a circular motion to dislodge ingrown hairs. Tell him to do this at least twice a day. If he sees hair that has penetrated the skin and washing does not free it, he should lift the hair out of the skin by inserting a clean needle under the loop that the hair makes as it enters the skin and then prying it loose. If he can’t manage this on his own, he has to draft someone to help.

If any of the bumps has pus in it, have him buy an antibiotic cream and apply it to his face according to the directions on the package.

When all the pimples are gone, he can begin to shave once more. Before shaving he needs to wet his beard with warm water and brush it with circular motions. He should also perform this ritual before going to bed.

Tell him not to go for a close shave. He should purchase an adjustable razor so he is not shaving the hair close to the skin. A hint of stubble is the “in” look. The beard should be lubricated with a thick shaving gel, shaving should go in the direction of beard growth, and the blade must be rinsed after every stroke.

Actually, an electric razor would be a good buy.

DEAR DR. DONOHUE: I have type 2 diabetes. Would a glass of wine a day help people like me restore their body’s response to insulin? – R.H.

ANSWER: Type 2 diabetes used to be called adult-onset diabetes. It’s the most prevalent form of diabetes, and it usually comes on later in life, but not always. People with this kind of diabetes make enough insulin, but their body cells do not respond to insulin like they should. Ordinarily, insulin opens the doors to cells so sugar can enter and provide a source of energy. In people with type 2 diabetes, insulin doesn’t open the doors, and these people are said to be insulin-resistant.

A daily glass of wine has been shown to lessen diabetics’ risk of heart attack. The risk of a heart attack for diabetics is many times greater than it is for the general population. The exact mechanism by which the wine affords protection is not completely understood. It might increase the pancreas’s production of insulin, or it might decrease the liver’s production of sugar.

The daily glass of wine would probably work for people with type 1 diabetes, too, but that trial has not been done.

Wine does not restore a type 2 diabetic’s response to insulin.

Dr. Donohue regrets that he is unable to answer individual letters, but he will incorporate them in his column whenever possible. Readers may write him or request an order form of available health newsletters at P.O. Box 536475, Orlando, FL 32853-6475.

Copy the Story Link