ISLAMABAD: Like many teenagers, Nicolas Travis struggled with severe acne. But he did something about it. “My experience with acne sparked off my passion for skin care,” the 30-year-old said. “I wanted to go back to basics and treat the most fundamental aspect of skin health: a healthy barrier.” Nicolas Travis’ struggles with acne as a teen prompted his interest in skin care. Growing up in Asia, where air pollution is rampant, Travis wanted to protect his skin against pollution, which he thinks aggravated his acne. It took him years to get it under control after trying a number of products such as antibiotics and cortisone shots. “Pollution is a huge contributor of inflammation, and you can’t really run away from it,” Travis said. Allies of Skin products use antioxidants to protect skin. The Singaporean man studied biomedical and pharmaceutical science at the University of Bradford in the UK and, in 2016, launched a skin care company, Allies of Skin. The products aim to utilize the antioxidant properties of ingredients such as Moringa and Manuka honey, which are thought to help strengthen the structure of skin and fight damaging molecules — in turn, protecting it. Air pollution can lead to skin aging and the worsening of inflammatory skin diseases like eczema, acne and psoriasis, said Dr. Chan Yung, a dermatologist who consults with the Matilda International Hospital in Hong Kong. It can also increase the risk of skin cancer. Yung recommends combating these effects by wearing sunscreen and a hat, even using an umbrella during the daytime. But he also advises the use of an antioxidant to help reduce oxidative stress from free radicals. A topical antioxidant is best, he said, because the oral absorption of vitamins is limited, leaving the amount available for skin further reduced. White blood cells produce free radicals from oxygen to kill bacteria or viruses, explains Linwei Tian, an environmental epidemiologist at the University of Hong Kong. When they are exposed to air pollution, these free radicals may be created to fight off potential pollution deposits, but as the white blood cells cannot kill the pollution particles, more white blood cells come in, creating even more free radicals, causing oxidative stress and inflammation. Traffic-related air pollution has also been shown to cause the formation of lentigenes — dark spots on the skin — in women in Germany and China, with the most pronounced changes on the cheeks of Asian women over 50, according to research in the Journal of Investigative Dermatology. A recent study in China found that indoor air pollution, due to close proximity to smokers, cooking fuels and roads, can also cause skin aging. But while studies like these suggest a direct correlation between air pollution and skin damage, Dr. Henry HL Chan, an honorary clinical professor at the University of Hong Kong, said it’s hard to find exact statistics on just how big a role pollution plays. Two factors cause the greatest damage — sun and smoke — and when air particles cause free radical damage to cells, certain parts of our cells are not replaceable, Chan said. Peanut allergy: Scientists have developed a blood test for peanut allergies that they say is less risky and more cost-efficient than other tests. The skin-prick test used currently can result in people being diagnosed with an allergy when they do not have one. And the new test could be used after inconclusive skin-prick tests instead of tests that involve eating nuts. The Medical Research Council team says new the test could be adapted to test for other food allergies. The current oral food challenge (OFC) involves feeding peanuts in increasingly large doses to a patient in a controlled setting in hospital to try to confirm the allergy. However, it has a risk of causing severe allergic reactions. And the researchers say the new test is safer and more accurate. Their study, published in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, involved 174 children aged from six months to 17 years, 73 of whom were allergic to peanuts. The study’s lead author, Dr Alexandra Santos, of King’s College London, said: “The current tests are not ideal. “If we relied on them alone, we’d be over-diagnosing food allergies – only 22% of school-aged children in the UK with a positive test to peanuts are actually allergic when they’re fed the food in a monitored setting.” Dr Santos told the BBC oral food challenges, conducted in hospital with an allergist and two nurses with an individual patient, who needs constant monitoring, “require access to sophisticated medical facilities needed to treat severe allergic reactions should they develop, which can be very expensive”. “The new test is specific in confirming the diagnosis. So when it’s positive, we can be very sure it means allergy,” she said. “We would reduce by two-thirds the number of expensive, stressful oral food challenges conducted, as well as saving children from experiencing allergic reactions. “One of the advantages for its use on the NHS is the fact that it is less expensive and safer compared to the OFC, but proper cost-effectiveness studies and studies about the wider impact of the test need to be performed once it is indeed available to the clinicians. “Before it can be used clinically, it needs to be running routinely in a diagnostic laboratory.” Holly Shaw, nurse adviser at Allergy UK, told the BBC: “We welcome food-allergy focused research, an area of concern for health professionals and those whose lives are impacted on by food allergy. Published in Daily Times, May 20th 2018.