the dermatologist and acne

A dermatologist is a doctor who specializes in skin and skin-related diseases. This branch of medicine is unique to medical and surgical aspects. A dermatologist focuses on diseases as well as cosmetic problems associated with the skin, hair, scalp, and nails. Working in hospitals and mostly private clinics. The word for dermatologist actually originated from Greek, Latin, then French, and finally landed in English around 1819. The first school for a dermatologist was created in Paris, France. Work in hair transplants made the field of dermatology and dermatologists more advanced.
A dermatologist needs to earn a medical degree. They need either an M.D. or a D.O. The training for a dermatologist in a general field is four years. The first year is as a medical or surgical intern while the last three years are residency as a dermatologist. Post-residency training is available for those who seek to specialize in fields such as dermatopathology, phototherapy, cosmetic surgery, laser medicine, immunodermatology, and Mohs micrographic surgery.
For the field of cosmetic dermatology, a dermatologist is trained in fillers, laser surgery, and botox. Sometimes this field even includes face lifts, liposuction, or blepharoplasty. Minimally invasive procedures are the limit for a dermatologist. A dermatologist who specializes in pathology of skin is a dermatopathologist. This requires a fellowship of one year which is broken down into six months for dermatopathology and six months of pathology. Immunodermatology focuses on skin diseases like lupus, pemphigus vulgaris, and bullous pemphigoid. Mohs surgery is a field for a dermatologist who focuses on excision of skin cancers. A dermatologist in this field uses tissue-sparing techniques which allow for assessments of deep tumor margins. Pediatric dermatology is for a dermatologist who specializes in neonatal diseases, hereditary skin disease, as well as genodermatoses. Lastly, teledermatology focuses on telecommunication technologies and how they can be used to exchange medical information. This field is used to exchange audio, visual, or data communication and to better establish second opinions.
A dermatologist can provide many therapies including cosmetic filler injectsions, laser therapy, hair transplants, hair removal, phototherapy, tattoo removal, liposuction, allergy testing, radiation therapy, cryosurgery, or topical therapies. Amongst topical therapies, dermatologists are often utilized for the care and treatment of acne. They can examine the severity of cases of acne and other skin diseases such as rosacea. A dermatologist can be used to prescribe more intense topical treatments or antibiotics when over-the-counter acne treatments do not work. They can also prescribe nighttime creams, gels, with higher percentages of things such as benzoyl peroxide. Suggesting birth control to clear up acne usually comes from the advice of a dermatologist. A dermatologist is also well utilized for continual check ups to verify if improvement has been made and it other options should be exercised. With products such as differin, it is important to continually attend to check ups with a dermatologist because the initial use of differin can cause more break outs before it begins to heal them. This can seem unnerving and project the appearance of not working to anyone who isn’t a trained dermatologist.


Dr Shabbir Ahmed is a freelance GP in the UK.
http://www.drshabbirahmed.com/acne