Onychomadesis is the spontaneous, complete shedding of the nail from its proximal side, without pain or inflammation, following nail matrix arrest. Brian Maurer, a pediatric practitioner, recently saw a 5-year-old boy with a two-week history of nail shedding. The child had antecedent Hand, Foot and Mouth disease. Nail shedding has been described as a sequela to HFM Disease. To access Mr. Maurer’s excellent case report please click “HFM Nails” References: 1. A Clinical Study of Nail Changes Occurring Secondary to Hand-Foot-Mouth Disease: Onychomadesis and Beau’s Lines. Shin JY, Cho BK, Park HJ. Ann Dermatol. 2014 Apr;26(2):280-3. Free Open Access 2. From: Onychomadesis: A common sequalae and concern for patients after … Continue reading
Lament of Hand Dermatitis Patient
I don’t want to write about my hand dermatitis. I don’t like the term. Just be normal. I don’t want to go to the doctor or the pharmacy. I don’t want to take any pills, creams, antibiotics, narcotics or any medicine. I don’t want to be treated like a criminal or a drug addict. I don’t want to sit around and wait for appointments and refills and be questioned over and over. I don’t want to have to show my ID to the same person every time I fill a narcotic prescription. I don’t want to spend my money on co-pays, tape, creams, gloves, and other stupid medically-related items. I … Continue reading
ODEAR: Most-Favored Specialties
Hi, Dr. Elpern, I am contacting you in hopes that you may be able to assist me in attaining my goal of gaining acceptance to a Dermatology residency, and also to see if you had any advice on how to shine during my dermatology rotations, or any contacts at my away school who may assist me in research opportunities such as case reports/letters. I receive emails like this with regularity. In the 1960s when I was in medical school, dermatologists were at, or near, the bottom of the physician feeding chain. Internists, with their haughty demeanor, were the self-proclaimed real brains of medicine and lorded it over most other practitioners. Radiologists … Continue reading
Brooding Over the Changes to Come in Dermatology
Keywords: Adrienne Rich, dermatology, ICD-10, solo practice, death, middle age, Maya, provision of medical care, Obamacare, doctor patient relationship Adrienne Cecile Rich (May 16, 1929 – March 27, 2012), an American poet, essayist and feminist, was one of the most widely read and influential poets of the second half of the 20th century. She was put on the map by her early poems written while she was an undergraduate at Radcliffe College. In 1951, her last year at college, Rich’s first collection of poetry, “A Change of World,” was selected by W. H. Auden for the Yale Series of Younger Poets Award. He went on to write the introduction to … Continue reading
Stations of the Heart: Book Review
“Stations of the Heart: Parting with a son” by Robert Lischer is a moving and important book by the father of a 33 yo man with metastatic melanoma. It chronicles the last three months of Adam Lischer’s life. The book describes the medical, spiritual and philosophical aspects of Adam’s death. It’s a valuable resource. I have typed out a few pages of quotations which may interest you.. There are many medical details that a dermatologist would like to know, but they are less important than the view from the family’s standpoint. See Book Review: Stations of the Heart. Quotations from Stations of the Heart.
Kentucky Fried Marla
It seems like I’m not the only one who isn’t going to take her keratosis pilaris, aka ‘chicken skin,’ diagnosis lying down. A light bulb went off when I saw this home-made video of a young woman and KP sufferer, who went to a hot climate for a brief vacation and her KP miraculously disappeared, just like mine did when I went to Los Angeles last summer. I think there’s something to this sun/heat thing. Something more than meets the eye. It meets the skin too. I believe the strength and heat of the sun is penetrating the skin, opening up the pores and (to my mind), actually melting that … Continue reading
Waiting for Toctino
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Zen and Dermatology Practice
Zen Buddhism has a lot to teach us as physicians, as dermatologists. Consider these two quotes from respected roshi: The practice is the teacher. Your practice is your teacher. Maurine Stuart. Teaching is not difficult, Listening is not difficult either. What is truly difficult is to become conscious of what you have in yourself and be able to use it as your own. DT Suzuki, The Marvelous Cat
Loss and Found
Reflections on Skin Cancer and Solar Aging Band-Aid Generation I am one in the army of older people to wear a Band-Aid on my face. One skin cancer survivor who joyfully, happily, obliviously chose a chaise-sitting, oil-basting, body-rotating, reflector-using, get-a-tan- at-any-cost younger life. So now I’m a dues-paying member of a community I didn’t ask to join. The Reckoning I’m sitting on a park bench looking down at my hands, the backs shockingly old in the afternoon sun. The skin crinkles outward like a spider web or pieces of broken eggshells. On examination, the left hand appears more lined than the right. I wonder if the left one was … Continue reading
Music as Complement to Surgery
Dermatologists perform office surgery almost daily. Our awareness of the growing interest in, and literature on, music as an adjunct in the perioperative period led us to survey the use of music during 100 consecutive office procedures in a dermatology practice. We found that the effects of music were salutary for patients and the investigators. Music is a simple, inexpensive, safe and effective adjunct to office surgery. We hope that this report will be of help to physicians who wish to provide music to ease patients during office procedures. For full paper: Music and Surgery Appendix: Music Study Appendix Keywords: music, medicine, surgery, perioperative, playlists, dermatologist, dermatology
