Acne Education by Dermatologists Improved by New Online Resources

Acne patients can now learn about acne from an expert source, their own dermatologist.

Dermatologists that use Vivacare’s “From Your Doctor” patient education service have access to up-to-date acne handouts that cover a wide range of issues, including mild acne, moderate acne, severe acne, adult acne, acne medications, and acne myths.

The new handouts provide in-depth and practical information to help their patients understand and manage their acne. Dermatologists can select specific handouts for use on their own Websites and customize the content to reflect their own clinical perspective and unique approach to care.

The online delivery of patient education by dermatologists helps to reinforce important information that may be shared during the medical office visit, but later forgotten.

Acne Treatment with Non-Prescription Medications

When asked about the proper role for over-the-counter, non-prescription acne medications, leading dermatologists offered their opinions.

“OTC acne medications can help many patients - and trying them first can be a great first step in treating acne”, said Dr. Jeffrey Ellis of Belaray Dermatology in Plainview, New York. “If you try out an OTC acne product for 2-4 weeks, and find that your skin is not yet clear - it is time to call a dermatologist.”

According to Dr. Steven Feldman, professor of pathology and dermatology at Wake Forest University Medical Center, "For patients with relatively mild disease, a topical vitamin A medication with a topical antibiotic can be used. Bacteria can become resistant to antibiotics, but combined use with a benzoyl peroxide product helps prevent resistant organisms from developing. This topical approach is the foundation of treatment.”

The clinical judgment provided by dermatologists are published by Vivacare, a patient education company that provides dermatologists with tools to educate their patients and the public about skin conditions and offer skin care advice.

Leading Dermatologists Discuss Stelara for Psoriasis

Expert dermatologists have published their perspective regarding the use of Stelara™ for Psoriasis via Vivacare, a patient education company that provides dermatologists with tools to educate their patients and the public about skin conditions and offer skin care advice.

According to Steve Feldman, M.D., PhD, Professor of Dermatology at Wake Forest University Medical Center, "Stelara appears to be an excellent new option for moderate-to-severe psoriasis, offering patients who have failed other (psoriasis) treatments new hope, and offering the most convenient options yet for treating severe disease. The primary benefits are high efficacy and, so far, good safety (measured over about 2 years of use).”

Stelara™ is the most recent biologic to become available to people with psoriasis, a chronic, autoimmune disease that appears on the skin. The medication is administered twice in the first month, followed by dosing just four times per year. The relatively long duration of relief between treatments (only 5 doses per year) is perceived has having significant advantages. Stelara™ also has a unique mechanism of action by selectively targeting immune system signals called "cytokines" that are responsible for the inflammation seen with psoriasis, specifically interleukin-12 (IL-12) and interleukin 23 (IL-23). Other biologics regulate different immune system components, such as T-cells or tumor necrosis factor (TNF).

Bleach Bath Instructions Provided by Dermatologists

Bleach baths have antibacterial properties that decrease the number of staph. bacteria (staphylococcus), such as MRSA, on the skin. This can reduce the number of atopic dermatitis flares and decrease the use of antibiotics to control skin infections.

Bleach bath instructions are now available for dermatologists to deliver to their patients with atopic dermatitis. Dermatologists that use Vivacare’s “From Your Doctor” patient education service can display bleach bath information along with other patient handouts regarding a wide range of skin care issues, including atopic dermatitis, bleach baths, corticosteroids, itching, moisturizers, and general skin care advice.

The use of bleach baths had been shown to provide rapid and significant improvement in the signs and symptoms of bacterial infections associated with atopic dermatitis when used in conjunction with oral antibiotics.

Leading Dermatologists Review Topical Acne Medications

Topical retinoids, such as Differin™, Epiduo ™, Retin A Micro™, Tazorac ™, and tretinoin, are effective for the treatment of both comedonal acne and inflammatory acne. New York dermatologist, Jeffrey Ellis, M.D., said that "most patients with acne will benefit from a topical retinoid. It is one of the few medications we prescribe topically that helps to prevent new pimples from forming. Retinoids do not help patients overnight, but in the long run they can make acne much better. It is important for patients to continue using the medication -- even if they don't think it is helping.” Furthermore, according to Marta Rendon, M.D., topical retinoids can be used in conjunction with topical or oral antibiotics to treat more serious cases of the disease such as inflammatory acne.

The clinical perspective of these leading dermatologists and other skin care experts are made available through Vivacare’s From Your Doctor patient education service.

Dr. William Paronish provides his expert opinion about the use of Latisse for eyelash growth.

He reports that, "Across the board our results have been excellent resulting in a very happy group of patients and side effects have been minimal. Mild irritation is very common the first week but quickly resolves spontaneously."

Dr. Paronish added that "The only reason I've had to stop Latisse so far has been because of darkening in the lateral cheek region that resulted from the lid application of the product which resolved quickly with discontinuation of the product."

Dr. William Paronish is in private practice in Northern Cambria, Pennsylvania. He uses Vivacare's "From Your Doctor" patient education service to provide his patients with access to practical health information to improve clinical care and patient satisfaction.

Laser Hair Removal Reviewed by Leading Dermatologists

Laser hair removal uses laser light to heat the hair follicle deep within the skin and permanently eliminate unwanted hair. 82% of dermatologists prefer lasers to any other technology to achieve permanent hair removal.

People seeking information about this cosmetic procedure can now learn what leading dermatologists say. What should patients expect in terms of removal of unwanted hair? What about new at-home laser options? How do the results from these at-home lasers compare to those achieved from a dermatologist? Vivacare has made available the clinical opinion of skin care experts about laser hair removal.

Dermatologist Jeffrey Ellis, M.D. stated, "Laser hair removal done by a skilled physician in the medical office setting is a reliable, safe and effective procedure."

Dermatologist Jeffrey Dover, M.D. stated, "If you are thinking about purchasing an at-home laser hair removal device, first, be sure you are a good candidate for this treatment. Fair skinned individuals with dark hair do the best while dark skinned individuals are more tricky to treat. The risks of skin discoloration after using one of these home devices for darker skinned individuals and for the most part the devices are not indicated for anybody except those with fair to moderately light skin with dark hair. But if you do have dark hair and light skin, and you don’t have a huge area to treat, it might be worth trying one of these devices."

Leading dermatologists publish their perspective on a variety of skin care topics at the From Your Doctor Website.