Dr S'lindile Ndwalane

When someone has psoriasis, we naturally focus on what we can see on the skin, but there is another conversation worth having: How are your joints?

For some people living with psoriasis, joint pain, stiffness or swelling may be associated with psoriatic arthritis. That is why seemingly unrelated symptoms are worth mentioning during your medical appointments.

A dermatologist doesn’t replace a rheumatologist; but medicine often requires us to connect information across specialties.

Sometimes your skin and your joints are telling different parts of the same story.

📍 Stonehill Medical Centre, Edenvale
📞 011 452 5331 | 081 476 8703
✉️ [email protected]

We tend to pay attention to our nails aesthetically - the colour, shape, length or next appointment.

But what about the nail itself?

Persistent thickening, lifting, pain, crumbling or unusual colour changes can have different causes, from trauma and infection to inflammatory skin conditions.

The point isn’t to diagnose your nails by looking at pictures online. 👀

It’s to start noticing when something has changed and isn’t returning to normal.

And yes - your nails are part of dermatology too.
📍 Stonehill Medical Centre, Edenvale
📞 011 452 5331 | 081 476 8703
✉️ [email protected]

A flare can change what you wear.
Hair loss can change how you enter a room.
Acne can make you avoid a photograph.

A visible skin condition can make an innocent question from someone else feel exhausting.

That doesn’t mean every person living with a dermatological condition is struggling with their mental health. But it does remind us that dermatology is experienced by a whole person - not only through what we can see.

As we mark World Mental Health Day on 10 October, perhaps we can also become more thoughtful about how we speak about other people’s appearance.

Sometimes kindness looks like simply not commenting on someone’s skin, hair or body at all🤎

Breast Cancer Awareness Month rightly places attention on awareness, screening and early detection.

It is one of the health campaigns recognised on South Africa’s October 2026 health calendar, but I also want to acknowledge what can happen during treatment.

Changes to the skin, scalp, hair and nails can sometimes feel insignificant compared with everything else a patient is navigating. They aren’t.

Comfort matters. Quality of life matters. And supportive care matters.

If you are undergoing cancer treatment, always discuss new symptoms with your oncology team first.

Where appropriate, dermatological care can work alongside your existing treatment.

Raised, itchy welts that appear suddenly and then seem to move around the body can be urticaria — commonly called hives.

One of the first questions people ask is: “What did I eat?”

Sometimes there is an identifiable trigger. But urticaria can also be associated with medicines, infections and physical triggers such as heat or pressure - and sometimes the cause isn’t immediately clear.

If hives keep returning, the answer isn’t always to keep eliminating foods or changing products. Understanding the pattern is an important part of understanding what may be happening.

World Urticaria Day was officially observed on 1 October, with the 2026 theme “Take Back Control – From Itch to Understanding.” Urticaria Day

📍 Stonehill Medical Centre, Edenvale
📞 011 452 5331 | 081 476 8703
✉️ [email protected]

Starting a new dermatology treatment? Here are five things I want you to know before you begin👩🏾‍⚕️

1. Know what you’re treating.
2. Give treatment time to work.
3. Be careful what you combine.
4. Know when to contact your doctor.
5. Consistency matters.

Most importantly, ask questions. You should understand what you’re using, why you’re using it and what you can reasonably expect from it.

Save this before starting your next treatment🤎

📍 Stonehill Medical Centre, Edenvale
📞 011 452 5331 | 081 476 8703
✉️ [email protected]

Scalp flaking can have several causes, including seborrhoeic dermatitis, psoriasis, eczema, contact dermatitis and simple dryness. Fungal infection is another possibility - but it is not the explanation for every flaky scalp.

And that matters because different causes need different management.

If you have been cycling through dandruff shampoos without improvement; particularly if there is itching, inflammation, pain or hair loss - it may be time to stop guessing.

Your scalp is skin too.

📍 Stonehill Medical Centre, Edenvale
📞 011 452 5331 | 081 476 8703
✉️ [email protected]

Heritage lives in so many places.

In our names. Our languages. The food we grew up eating. The clothes we wear. The music that feels like home. The stories our families tell - and the traditions we choose to carry forward.

And perhaps one of the most beautiful things about heritage is that it is never only about looking back. It is also about what we preserve, what we teach, and what the next generation will one day call theirs.

Today, I celebrate the richness of South Africa and the many cultures, histories and traditions that make us who we are. 🇿🇦

Happy Heritage Day, South Africa.

May we always know where we come from, while making room for who we are becoming.

A woman should be able to go for a run. Drive home. Walk to her car. Go to work. Meet friends. Simply live her life - without fear being the price of her freedom.

As we grieve the women whose lives have been taken in Ekurhuleni, and hold their families and loved ones in our thoughts, we must remember that these were not simply “bodies found.” They were women. They had names, families, plans and lives that mattered. Police are currently investigating the deaths of eight women found across Ekurhuleni, while cautioning that links between the cases have not yet been established.

Women deserve safe homes, safe streets, safe workplaces and safe public spaces.

Safety is not a privilege women should have to negotiate for. It is a right.

And no woman should have to make herself smaller, more cautious or less free simply to stay alive.

For World Atopic Eczema Day, I want to acknowledge the part of eczema we don’t always see in photographs.

The restless nights. The uncomfortable days. The treatment routines. The mental load of wondering what might trigger the next flare. And for parents, watching your child struggle with an itch you can’t simply make disappear.

Eczema care is about more than getting the skin to look better.

It’s about helping someone sleep better, feel more comfortable and have more good days. 🤍
If you or your child is living with persistent or recurring eczema, you don’t have to keep figuring it out alone.

📍 Stonehill Medical Centre, Edenvale
📞 011 452 5331 | 081 476 8703
✉️ [email protected]

This content is for educational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Please consult a qualified healthcare professional for personalised care.

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