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Show Our Health by Dr. Jerome Z. Lift ? m VISITING A DOCTOR There is really only one possible pos-sible answer to the question: "Should I see a doctor?" The answer is: "Yes." Before you leap to the conclusion con-clusion that I'm just trying to drum up business for doctors, think back to the last time you went to see a doctor. You were uncomfortable because of some symptom a pain, headache, cough, or such but there was something more than just discomfort involved. The chances are, you were worried. If, like most people, you kept putting off making the doctor's appointment, by the time you brought yourself to do it, you were no longer just slightly worried. Very likely you were plain scared. Very often the doctor's first job is to get the patient calmed down enough to understand un-derstand the treatment instructions in-structions ! Ninety-nine percent of the worry and panic that bring people to a physician's office is completely unnecessary. It is generally not due to the illness itself but to uncertainty, uncertain-ty, to not knowing what's the matter. . ... It's the physician's job to find out what the matter is, and to cope with the disorder. Let's consider the case of the person who notices a rash on his or her body. It itches slightly, but is more puzzling than uncomfortable. A common com-mon sense treatment is to wash the area, blot it dry. and ap ply a soothing antiseptic such as Campho-Phenique first aid gel. While this may relieve the itch or the burning, the person per-son observes that the rash does not seem to be going away, even after several days. Right on the tube of Campho-Phenique Campho-Phenique it says: "If symptoms symp-toms persist, consult physician."- There are several hundred disorders that might be responsible re-sponsible for a rash, and it takes a physician to diagnose which one is involved in any given instance. You notice that I say "physician" or "doctor" and not "dermatologist." "dermatolo-gist." Your first line of defense is your family physician, who knows your allergies 'if any), your sensitivities, and your medical history. " derision as to whether to .s -tologist, or any ot! ist, for that matter. . :, made with your doctor's advice. ad-vice. To sum up: You should see a doctor for any skin condition condi-tion that docs not go away after a few days if you have kept the affected area clran and applied Campho-Phenique. And leave it to the physician to advise you whether to see a dermatologist or other specialist. Dr. Jerome Z. Litt is Assistant Assis-tant Clinical Professor of Dermatology at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine and author of neicly-published neicly-published Your Skin i- How To Live In It. |