Recollections of an Office Visit by, the then pre-teen, Barry Mayer, M.D., FACR My uncle had a dairy farm in Orange County, New York where I spent all summer and most of my vacations working and playing from the ages of about 7 to 11 years old. Our family primary care physician was a loyal referrer to Dr. Louis Chargin, … Continue reading
One morning, I pulled an empty chart from the rack on the examination room door: new patient, Ms. Judith Cornish, age forty-seven. I knocked twice and entered. “Good morning, I’m Dr. Shaw,” I flipped open the chart. “You are Ms. Cornish?” (I always used last names. It was formal, I know, but I preferred erring on the side of respect, … Continue reading
Bottom: “Ready. Name what part I am for, and proceed.” A Mid-Summer Night’s Dream, I, ii. Abstract: Over a one-month period a 17-year-old male presented with severe recurrent rectal discomfort clinically diagnosed as proctitis with anal fissure. Both episodes responded to a course of antibiotics and topical steroid ointments. On clinical examination the degree of rectal mucositis corresponded to that … Continue reading
Notes from the Xanadu Clinic, Norfolk Island, South Pacific The patient is a 65 yo man with a one week history of intense lancinating pain in the right upper quadrant. He was examined by his internist who suspected gall bladder disease and ordered an abdominal ultrasound. It was negative, so an abdominal CT scan was scheduled. Between the ultrasound and … Continue reading
Dr. Cohen is a dermatology resident at LECOM/Alta Dermatology in Mesa, Arizona. Email YC. Keywords: scabies, dermoscopy, delta sign, triangle sign, diagnosis Scabies is an itchy skin condition caused by a tiny burrowing mite called Sarcopetes scabiei. A scabies diagnosis can be confirmed by taking a skin scraping and seeing the scabies mite, scybala (its pellet-shaped feces), or ovum under … Continue reading
A 54-year-old carpenter presented to the dermatology clinic for evaluation of a lesion on his right forehead that turned out to be benign. He also mentioned that his barber brought to his attention some thick furrows he has in his scalp. These had developed slowly over the past decade or so. Examination of his scalp shows deep furrows consistent with … Continue reading
Rhoda, a 41 year-old professional woman, has had a facial eruption off and on for a number of years. It began with perioral dermatitis but evolved over time to the “red face syndrome.” What follows is her story and her dermatologist’s office notes. I had been diagnosed with perioral dermatitus many moons ago and was prescribed some wonderful topical steriod … Continue reading
This is a challenging TED video that all who are interested in “practicing safe sun” should watch. “Our bodies get Vitamin D from the sun, but as dermatologist Richard Weller suggests, sunlight may confer another surprising benefit too. New research by his team in Edinborough shows that nitric oxide, a chemical transmitter stored in huge reserves in the skin, can … Continue reading
Abstract: This is a case report of dysgeusia and glossodynia in a 58-year-old man, which he developed during a 12-week course of oral Lamisil (terbinafine) prescribed as treatment for presumed onychomycosis. Although these side effects are documented in the medical literature, many clinicians are either unaware of them or neglect to mention them to patients prior to prescribing the drug. … Continue reading
Bukowski on Acne From Ham on Rye Black Sparrow Press 1982 Ham on Rye, a semi-autobiographical novel, follows Henry Chinaski, Bukowski’s thinly-veiled alter ego, during his early years. It contains harrowing descriptions of Bukowski’s suffering from acne conglobata and his reflections on the dermatologists who treated him. Fortunately, today, isotretinoin can help most of these patients. Here are some excerpts … Continue reading
