Ask Doctor Cory.

Dear Dr. Cory:

I'm eleven years old. My mom says that my skin will get oily soon and that I'll probably get a lot of pimples. My mom, dad, and my older sister had really bad pimples. But my grandma on my dad's side hardly had any pimples. I look a lot like her and I even have the same skin tone. Does that mean that I'll have the same good luck and hardly get any pimples? Please put me in the magazine or write back, because I'd really like to know. Thanks!

Kristina Boehlke
Choctaw, Oklahoma

Dear Kristina:

There is a tendency to develop acne if someone in your immediate family had it. Or you could take after your grandmother. There is just no sure way to know.

Simply take good care of your skin. Eat a well-balanced diet. Get eight to ten hours of sleep. Be physically active for at least an hour every day. Maybe that was your grandmother's system when she was your age.

If needed, your doctor can help by recommending an over-the-counter medicine containing benzyl-peroxide. Some acne conditions require stronger, prescription medicine.

For more information about acne, visit www.uskidsmag.org.

Dear Dr. Cory:

When you get a bad sunburn, why do you peel or get blisters?

Megan Darling
Boonton, New Jersey

Dear Megan:

All burns, including sunburns, destroy skin cells. That is why you have pain, redness, and peeling. Sunburns commonly cause two kinds of burns:

* First degree: Top layer of skin burned, but not burned through. Skin turns dry and pink, no blisters, minor pain. Healing in three to five days.

* Second degree: More serious. Burn extends through the first and into second layer of skin, which holds nerve endings, so pain increases. Blisters develop, redness and swelling increase.

Sunburn is caused by the sun's ultraviolet (ull-tra-VI-oh-let), or UV, rays. You can't see these rays, but they are there on cloudy and sunny days.

Sincerely,

Cory SerVaas, M.D.

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