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My dermatologist says to drop the DEs......

After twenty years of shaving, and using everything from single blade disposables to various electrics, I can say that wet shaving has produced the best results for me so far.
I have had skin problems since the beginning, and have taken oral medications to slow the outbreaks, I even grew a full beard for a couple of years out of frustration. But in the last few months of wet shaving, I have had the best skin on my face in my entire adult life. I wonder if I would have had such issues if I had been wet shaving from the start.
YMMV, but in my opinion, wet shaving is the best way to go. It's definitely worked for me, and it will be the way my son will learn, when that time comes.
 
For another point of view...

I would really doubt that this dermatologist gets any kind of commision, kickback, etc. from Gillette. More likely a 'very helpful' sales rep from Gillette did some sort of in-office lunch-n-learn for his office to explain how multiple blades are better for the skin, and might even have counted for continuing competency points. I can't count how many times manufacturer reps have offered me the same sort of free education, only to launch into a sales pitch. The Sonicare people are the absolute worst, very pushy. (I'm a dentist.) I also know some colleagues who get all of their required CE points this way.

Personally, I have a very skeptical nature and look for independent studies to back up anything I hear, but I think this is a much more reasonable explanation than any sort of payola by the doctor. The Gillette mug, etc. would also tend to back this up.

Either way, my very unqualified advice would be to ignore that particular bit of advice. My skin has never been as nice as it has since I started using a DE.
 
I don't care what anyone wants to shave with... purely a personal decision. No right or wrong answer!
What I do find amazing, is the number of people who accept a Doctors advice without question.. As if that MD were not made up of flesh and blood just like the rest of us!
When I go to a Dr's office, and I don't go all that often, I don't leave the exam room until all of my questions are answered. Then I do my own research to try to ascertain if said Doc is doing the right thing.

Doctors are mere mortals, subject to the same pitfalls and social forces that affect all of us..

I agree that since doctors are humans, they are subject to error. I'm a doctor myself, and I know I've made mistakes at times.

However, I have to make one comment about your post. You SHOULD get all your questions answered, certainly. The problem I have is with your statement that you "do your own research" to ascertain if the MD is doing the right thing. My problem with that is that there is so much misinformation about there nowadays that "doing your own research" might sometimes amount to nothing more than "reading a bunch of garbage and conjecture." And from that you might determine that your physician was wrong when in fact he/she was right. Also try to remember that the physician has clinical experience in his/her armementarium, as well, which you (as a layperson) lack.
Just be careful not to write off your doctor's advice based on stuff you dig up on line. That's really what it all boils down to.
 
The dermatologist probably has a reason to tell him to switch. Most likely, the OP is chewing up his face with the DE, and either needs to drastically improve his technique, or switch to a cartridge.

Suggesting a cartridge is probably just shorthand for "Shaving is chewing up your face, you need to change something"

My thoughts, as well. Here we are on page six of this rant, and I still don't see any input from the OP that tells us why his doctor made such a recommendation in the first place.
 
I agree that since doctors are humans, they are subject to error. I'm a doctor myself, and I know I've made mistakes at times.

However, I have to make one comment about your post. You SHOULD get all your questions answered, certainly. The problem I have is with your statement that you "do your own research" to ascertain if the MD is doing the right thing. My problem with that is that there is so much misinformation about there nowadays that "doing your own research" might sometimes amount to nothing more than "reading a bunch of garbage and conjecture." And from that you might determine that your physician was wrong when in fact he/she was right. Also try to remember that the physician has clinical experience in his/her armementarium, as well, which you (as a layperson) lack.
Just be careful not to write off your doctor's advice based on stuff you dig up on line. That's really what it all boils down to.

An excellent point. While it is always a good idea to be proactive when your health is involved, ask questions and have them answered, there has been a large trend of people coming to the doctor requesting something that they saw advertised or read about. If what they ask for makes clinical sense, the doctor would no doubt let the patient try it. However, if it does not, the doctor (using his best judgment to try to advocate for the patient's health) will be dismissed as "not knowing what the f he's talking about."

Be active. Research. Ask questions. You are the patient. It is your health. Just remember to question the internet just like you would question your physician (for telling you that it's not a great idea to do xyz that you read in the newspaper)
 
I agree that since doctors are humans, they are subject to error. I'm a doctor myself, and I know I've made mistakes at times.

However, I have to make one comment about your post. You SHOULD get all your questions answered, certainly. The problem I have is with your statement that you "do your own research" to ascertain if the MD is doing the right thing. My problem with that is that there is so much misinformation about there nowadays that "doing your own research" might sometimes amount to nothing more than "reading a bunch of garbage and conjecture." And from that you might determine that your physician was wrong when in fact he/she was right. Also try to remember that the physician has clinical experience in his/her armementarium, as well, which you (as a layperson) lack.
Just be careful not to write off your doctor's advice based on stuff you dig up on line. That's really what it all boils down to.


Couldn't put it better, when I visit the doctor it's to confirm my own self diagnosis, and to have a rough idea of a cure.... I never go blind to the doctor, as the last time I did I ended up having unnecessary blood tests (that I had to be held down for....). I as a lay person though have the ability to read (the majority of hospital doctors I've had the misfortune to meet have been totally incompetant, verging on idiotic, but thats another story anyways...)..... and formulate ideas, something that a doctor has generally not got the luxury of time to do..... especially with 5 minute sesions we get in the UK at the moment...

Tom
 
I agree that since doctors are humans, they are subject to error. I'm a doctor myself, and I know I've made mistakes at times.

However, I have to make one comment about your post. You SHOULD get all your questions answered, certainly. The problem I have is with your statement that you "do your own research" to ascertain if the MD is doing the right thing. My problem with that is that there is so much misinformation about there nowadays that "doing your own research" might sometimes amount to nothing more than "reading a bunch of garbage and conjecture." And from that you might determine that your physician was wrong when in fact he/she was right. Also try to remember that the physician has clinical experience in his/her armementarium, as well, which you (as a layperson) lack.
Just be careful not to write off your doctor's advice based on stuff you dig up on line. That's really what it all boils down to.

Well put.

Though it is easy to do your own research today, the problem is that laypeople
lack the skills, knowledge and judgment to tell the BS apart from the real. Further, laypeople will find information out there and don't have the experience and knowledge to foresee the consequences of a particular action. They'll read something, decide it is the best course of action, and not realize that a few miles down the road that decision will cause them a major problem.

I'm not a medical doctor, but have been a lawyer for awhile. I can't tell
you how many times people have their minds made up on a course of action because of some advice column or something they read online.

Asking questions and being proactive *is* a good thing. However, when matters are complex and one action triggers several consequences and/or eliminates other options, you really need a professional as a guide.

You can always get a second opinion from another doctor.
 
An excellent point. While it is always a good idea to be proactive when your health is involved, ask questions and have them answered, there has been a large trend of people coming to the doctor requesting something that they saw advertised or read about. If what they ask for makes clinical sense, the doctor would no doubt let the patient try it. However, if it does not, the doctor (using his best judgment to try to advocate for the patient's health) will be dismissed as "not knowing what the f he's talking about."

Be active. Research. Ask questions. You are the patient. It is your health. Just remember to question the internet just like you would question your physician (for telling you that it's not a great idea to do xyz that you read in the newspaper)

Of course, if you go to the doctor and suggest that you need a specific treatment, you are only doing what the drug companies say you ought to do. All of the TV ads end with "Ask your doctor if <ED pill du jour> is right for you."

It is important to be involved in your own health care, of course. We all need to remember that there is a lot of misinformation on the internet and your live in-person doctor's opinion is *usually* the best, as it pertains to YOU, at that moment, in the office on that day. Your doctor can observe your symptoms and DIAGNOSE in ways the internet cannot.

Case in point... a few years back I had a TERRIBLE pain on the left side of my head. It was a throbbing, sharp pain that extended from the crown of my head to my neck. I thought FOR SURE it was an infection in my half-impacted wisdom tooth (a major nerve runs right by there), so I called my dentist and he came in on a Saturday night to look me over.

Diagnosis (drum roll)..... canker sore.:blushing: It was indeed sitting right on the nerve on that side and was amazingly painful despite being such a small thing. My dentist, bless him, was very sympathetic though I'm sure he was laughing his butt off on the inside.

My point is, most of the time your doctor does indeed know best.
 
Sometimes they know best but not what will work specifically for you.

For instance, I had a pain in my leg accompanied by some marks. I went in to the practice my normal MD is in, but since she was busy I saw someone else. He looked, asked a few questions, then diagnosed "shingles". Okay, fine. He had a med for me. I asked how frequently the med needed to be taken. Answer: five times daily. I told him I'd never remember to take all the doses, and asked for an alternative med.

He insisted this was the best he'd encountered. I told him I didn't doubt it, but it's not useful if I won't remember to take it. We went around this for a little bit, then I asked for a second opinion on the matter. My doctor came in, agreed with the diagnosis, which I hadn't doubted, and agreed that a med which won't be taken isn't very useful.

He prescribed an alternate, to be taken three times a day. Okay, fine: once with each meal, I'll remember. This worked fine.

I saw him again at a later date for diabetes, as he was their endocrinologist. He was really good! I'm not saying he was a bad doctor, but that sometimes, the patient has relevant information which affects treatment. Once he got that through his skull, he did well. He just had an inflexible moment or something.
 
Well put.

Though it is easy to do your own research today, the problem is that laypeople
lack the skills, knowledge and judgment to tell the BS apart from the real. Further, laypeople will find information out there and don't have the experience and knowledge to foresee the consequences of a particular action. They'll read something, decide it is the best course of action, and not realize that a few miles down the road that decision will cause them a major problem.

I'm not a medical doctor, but have been a lawyer for awhile. I can't tell
you how many times people have their minds made up on a course of action because of some advice column or something they read online.

Asking questions and being proactive *is* a good thing. However, when matters are complex and one action triggers several consequences and/or eliminates other options, you really need a professional as a guide.

You can always get a second opinion from another doctor.

I agree that being proactive and asking questions about your health makes a great deal of sense. I also agree that using the internet or books about health care treatments that doctors "don't want you to know about" sold via late night infomercials can lead patients to avoid potentially life-saving advice from someone who may be experienced, educated, competent and trying to do their absolute best. I try to be informed when seeking the advice of a lawyer, plumber, auto mechanic etc. but am smart enough to realize that they know markedly more about their area of expertise than I do. I try to spend my "research" by finding the most competent and most highly recommended lawyer, plumber, auto mechanic etc. that I can and then I trust them to do their job well. By all means, ask your doctor as many questions as you need to to feel confident with their recommendations, but ask friends, family any health care workers that you know who they recommend. Check the internet to see that they are board certified. Finally, for what it's worth, regarding Big Pharma and physicians- having practiced medicine for over 20 years and having witnessed the increasing direct to consumer spending and rapidly rising medication costs, many if not most physicians are becoming more and more skeptical of pharmaceutical claims.
 
My thoughts exactly. I have never seen one and most likely will never see one. I dont even know if there is any of these quacks in this city

Spent last summer healing up a few holes on my back, waiting on feedback from the doc for some interesting moles.

The dermatologist here is right downtown, and I get to go back again in a few months if I'm still in Saskatoon.
 
Calling DERMs "quacks" is rather offensive, sir. They're MDs who specialize in skin. Would you call all spe......ts "quacks" or just these?
 
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I'm not a doctor but I'm in the business of making money. It makes it so much easier to pay the bills.
Yes, I can agree that there are some doctors and dentists who just want to sell you a bunch of unnecessary crap. They are the ones you should avoid.
I like my doctor very much. He doesn't try to sell me unnecessary crap.

I suffer from eczema, mainly on my feet and sometimes hands. I started having a problem with a 1/2" wide 2" long diagonal strip of it running from the left corner of my mouth to my chin. I work with customers all day, everyday. This was not good.
Since I switched to wetshaving with DE/SE/Injectors and real shave soap, the problem has gone away.
I also don't get zits/ingrown hairs like I used to.
 
I've had dermatologists tell me to use electric razors and that electric razors are terrible for the skin. I've had them tell me to grow a beard. You know what made me stop asking? A DE, a badger brush, and some nice shaving soap.

Dermatologists are trained to treat skin diseases. Crappy shaving equipment and technique are not skin diseases. (They just feel like they are.)


+1. Some skin diseases are caused by poor shaving technique. I'm guessing that he sees a lot of razor burn, and for most patients the easiest way to treat this is to ask people to change razors . . . I can't imagine he has any detailed knowledge of wet shaving, and I wouldn't take his recommendation seriously. If your skin problem is caused by shaving, I'm certain you could fix it just as easily by changing your technique or equipment, or by skipping a day. Asking a man to drop wet shaving just to fix a skin problem is like asking a man to convert to a new religion to improve his diet. You don't go there, and he should know better.
 
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