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Skin conditions can disrupt your daily life, not just your appearance. Anyone who has dealt with acne, eczema or other skin issues knows these problems can affect comfort, sleep and even confidence.
In this episode of Hadassah On Call: New Frontiers in Medicine, host Maayan Hoffman talks with Dr. Vered Molho-Pessach, head of dermatology at Hadassah Hospital Ein Kerem, about common skin conditions in children and adults, including eczema, acne and molluscum.
Dr. Molho-Pessach explains that eczema, also known as atopic dermatitis, often starts early in life, and both genes and environment can trigger it.
“You have a genetic tendency to develop it,” she explains. “But you also need something in your environment that triggers it.”
Parents often wonder when a child's skin issues need medical attention. Dr. Molho-Pessach lists key warning signs.
“When your child has very, very dry skin, when your child itches constantly, when your child is not sleeping well, when your child has constant skin infections, that’s for sure the right time to go to a pediatric dermatologist,” she says.
The conversation includes acne, which can affect all ages and has several treatment options.
One of the most powerful treatments is isotretinoin, commonly known as Accutane.
“It has a very significant influence on the acne, and it’s disease-modifying,” Dr. Molho-Pessach says. “Usually after you finish a course of Accutane, your skin clears.”
The episode also covers Hadassah Medical Organization research, including early studies on whether bacteriophages, viruses that kill bacteria, might treat acne without antibiotics.
“We wanted to find out whether we can use a topical gel with phages to apply on the skin to treat acne,” she explains.
The research is still in its early stages, but it offers a glimpse into the future of dermatology and highlights the innovative work underway at Hadassah hospitals.
Further Learning:
- Your Day in the Sun: Keeping Skin Healthy
- Joint Hadassah-Hebrew University Team Develops Cream to Treat Skin Toxicity
- Skin Cancer Treatment Enhanced in New Center for Dermatologic Surgery
- [Hadassah On Call] Melanoma: Latest on Cures, Causes and Vaccines
Hadassah On Call: New Frontiers in Medicine is a production of Hadassah, The Women's Zionist Organization of America. Hadassah enhances the health of people around the world through medical education, care and research innovations at the Hadassah Medical Organization. For more information on the latest advances in medicine, please head over to hadassah.org.
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Our recent episode, Medication Overload, with Dr. Yosef Caraco
If you are enjoying this episode, you’ll want to check out our previous episode, Medication Overload. In this episode, Dr. Yosef Caraco, director of clinical pharmacology at Hadassah Hospital Ein Kerem, explores what polypharmacy really means and why the issue is more complicated than it sounds. You can find that episode of Hadassah On Call on Apple Podcasts, Google Play or wherever you get your podcasts. Or on the web at hadassah.org/hadassahoncall.
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This season of the Hadassah On Call podcast has been unlike any other.
We’ve taken you behind the scenes at Hadassah hospitals in Jerusalem, where doctors and nurses are caring for those still healing from the October 7 terror attacks and the war that followed — treating not just patients but supporting their families every step of the way.
Along the way, you’ve learned about important health topics — from the hidden dangers of polypharmacy to how dental health can impact a serious illness like pneumonia.
And we’re not done yet. Stay tuned for upcoming episodes on diabetes, weight management and a special conversation with renowned hematologist Dr. Dina Ben-Yehuda.
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