ABSTRACT
Skin disease is very common. However ‘healthy’ we think our skin is, it is likely that we will have suffered from some degree of acne and maybe one or other of the many common skin disorders. Atopic eczema and the other forms of eczema affect some 15 per cent of the population under the age of 12, psoriasis affects 1-2 per cent, and viral warts, seborrhoeic warts and solar keratoses affect large segments of the population. It should be noted that 10-15 per cent of the general practitioner’s work is with skin disorders, and that skin disease is the second commonest cause of loss of work. Although skin disease is not uncommon at any age, it is particularly frequent in the elderly.
