THE BOTTOM LINE: WHAT IS A CLINICAL RESULT’ AND WHY SHOULD I CARE? IS A ?200 CREAM WORTH EVERY PENNY? WHAT IS A CLINICAL RESULT’ AND WHY SHOULD I CARE?

admin — Fri, 03 Jun 2011 12:01:21 +0000

As a physician, I’m trained to cast critical eye on all types of statistics and supposed success rates that don’t have solid research behind them. Whenever a beauty company quotes a level of improvement with their latest product after a certain number of weeks, it doesn’t quite paint the full picture. In other words, the public is never told just how many participants were in the study, or even what the condition of the skin was to begin with.

That said, it doesn’t necessarily mean that every quoted percentage of improvement is full of dead air. The bottom line is: don’t believe everything you hear just because it’s in a lively commercial with a gorgeous twenty-year-old model.

IS A ?200 CREAM WORTH EVERY PENNY?

What is it about creams with astronomical price tags that make perfectly sane women, and a handful of men, too, run to the stores to stock up on them? Judging from my patients’ testimonials, a lot of this brouhaha is wildly undeserved. But let’s face it – there’s something very exciting about buying a luxurious cream with the price tag to match, but any informed consumer will see past the glamour appeal.

To be fair, it is sometimes necessary to place a higher price tag on certain creams simply because better ingredients are more expensive.

Some of the chain store own-label brands, for example, can’t make use of certain raw ingredients because it would simply cost too much, an expense that they would have to share with their customers.

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COMMON SKIN DISEASES: IMPETIGO

admin — Mon, 21 Feb 2011 12:34:09 +0000

In impetigo, which is a rapidly-spreading pus infection of the skin, the staphylococcus or streptococcus are most often involved. Once the infection has begun it may spread rapidly by the use of towels, or by squeezing or scratching with the fingernails. People find difficulty in letting themselves alone.
Impetigo begins as small blisters on the face, scalp, and hands. The blisters increase in size and spread, as new little blisters form at the borders. In infants, the blisters break and discharge a thin fluid, leaving a moist red spot. If secondary pus invaders come in, thick yellow matter forms. These areas may be covered by dirty brown crusts.
With proper treatment impetigo usually clears up rapidly. Nowadays the available remedies are so much more efficient than those previously known that most cases, when recognized, can be cleared in a few weeks. Formerly the blisters were opened, the area cleaned, and an ammoniated mercury ointment applied. Now antibiotic ointments are available which act specifically against the pus germs. Moreover, the doctor can inject adequate doses of the antibiotics into the body and attack the infection from inside. Washing the skin around the infection with alcohol helps to keep the infection from spreading.
Impetigo is most contagious, and a child with the disease should be kept away from other children. Epidemics are particularly likely to occur in the nurseries of large hospitals.
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THE BOTTOM LINE: WHAT IS A CLINICAL RESULT’ AND WHY SHOULD I CARE? IS A ?200 CREAM WORTH EVERY PENNY? WHAT IS A CLINICAL RESULT’ AND WHY SHOULD I CARE?

COMMON SKIN DISEASES: IMPETIGO