This is one of my favorites. I see several patients every day with a drug allergy or contact allergy; last week I saw a pleasant gentleman with an intractable itchy rash on his hands, arms, and abdomen. Read more…
We are a germaphobic society. This is partly for good reason; MRSA, an aggressive staph infection, lurks everywhere, and we are constantly on watch for some deadly bird flu to descend upon us. Read more…
A young woman who I saw in clinic this week was on birth control pills for contraception. She had acne and I suggested we start minocycline, an oral antibiotic, to treat her. “Won’t that stop my birth control pill from working?” she asked. Good question. Read more…
A popular myth that even made its way to the Sopranos (when Christopher digs up Emil Kolar). It’s not true though.
The reason for the long-held belief may be that dehydration of the body after death, and subsequent shrinking of soft tissue, can create the illusion of growth of hair and nails.
For this and other popular myths that apparently even doctors believe (not me of course), see this NYT piece.
Before Plucking
After Plucking
You can’t catch a cold from going outside without a jacket, and hairs don’t grow back thicker after you pluck them. I swear.
In fact, repeatedly plucking hairs can scar the follicle, which over time can lead to permanent loss of that hair. It is actually a very inexpensive way to remove unwanted hairs.
Waxing, threading, and plucking hairs are essentially the same thing; the hairs usually will grow back (unless you perform this repeatedly over a long period of time).
Electrolysis and laser hair removal, in contrast, destroy the hair follicle. Most of these hairs will not grow back and repeated treatment will lead to permanent hair removal.
If you pluck your hairs:
You might also like:
Are You Over-Scrubbing Your Face?
What Causes Vertical Ridges in Your Nails?
Why Do Women Bruise More Easily Than Men?
Like this blog? Grab The Derm Feed
