In France, 1 in 3 people suffer from a skin disease, according to a large epidemiological study * conducted by the French Society of Dermatology (SFD).

And 80% of the patients concerned accumulate even two. And women are more affected than men: 33% of them have a dermatological pathology, against 28% of men.

These alarming numbers are well above the previous estimates. The stress of modern life and increasing pollution certainly play a significant role in increasing the number of skin disorders.

Acne tops the list of the most common skin diseases

Among the twelve most common skin conditions, acne comes at the top of the list: 3.3 million French suffer even after puberty.

Eczema (2.5 million patients) and psoriasis (2.4 million) complete the top three.

The diseases of the scalp (excluding alopecia areata), fungal infections and nail diseases are behind, with respectively 2.3 million, 2.2 million and 2.1 million French affected.

A burden difficult to bear

As most of these pathologies are displayed externally, they generate a sense of exclusion, even shame.

"Skin diseases are among the most stigmatizing," says sociologist Stéphane Heas, "It's not uncommon for a patient with a chronic, debilitating skin disease to consider suicide because the eyes of others added to the sufferings in his flesh and to the heaviness of the treatments, is beyond the bearable ".

In fact, 54% of those affected suffer from anxiety or depression according to the SFD.

29.2% are embarrassed by their dermatosis in their professional life and 45.2% in their personal life.

"At the end of the summer, we get people crumbled because exposure to the sun has increased the visibility of their disease, says Jean-Marie Meurant, president of the French Association of Vitiligo (AFV). like buying ice cream or strolling on the beach, have often been ruined by shocked, elusive, disgusted looks from other vacationers. "

Treatment of skin conditions: a race against the clock

The longer the diagnosis, the heavier the treatments and the important consequences for the patients, even irreversible.

It requires a fast management to minimize the damage, both from a physical point of view.

"Not to mention that some skin diseases are associated with other comorbidity factors (hypertension, diabetes ...) which themselves worsen for lack of diagnosis made in time," says the SFD.

But two problems persist: the number of dermatologists remains insufficient in France (there are only 3500) and pharmacological treatments (creams, emollient ointments, lotions ...) are very little or not at all reimbursed by the Health Insurance. This is why many deprive themselves and see their disease worsen.

The dermatological thermal treatments (thermal baths of Avène, La Roche-Posay or Uriage) give good results for certain affections like eczema or psoriasis. Thermal treatments are certainly reimbursed if the treatment is prescribed by the doctor. But the accommodation is not, hence a substantial burden that excludes many more patients.

* "Skin Objectives" study carried out on a representative sample of 20,012 people over 15 years old.