A few days ago I scrapped a scabies mite from a patients hand.  This however being a couple days before Christmas was a very special mite.  This was acually an ovum and if you look close you will see the legs of the scabies mite moving on the inside.  Click it to play the video.  I apologize in advance to all the non-medical people.

[youtubehq rbN2qxGYQTY Scabies Mite]

Ok, so I am not the Dermatologist, but I have to share one of my favorite things:  Neutrogena Ultra Sheer^® Body Mist Sunblock in SPF 30, 45 & 70.

Did you know that you are susposed to wear sunscreen everyday and the only time that you do not need to reapply your sunscreen is when you need a flashlight?  Yep!  After I get out of the shower I simple spray the 70 all over (yes, we are  a pastie white family, but we are going to look oh so good in 20 years) and then get dressed.  So simple, my hands stay clean and I can easily get my neck, shoulders and back…and it only seconds.  I still use a good moisturizer with 45 SPF for my face.  Are you going to look good in 20 years or are you going to look old, wrinkly, saggy and spotty?  (Aaron may be rubbing off on me.)

Here is a little informative information I ran across in the New Yorker.  It is so off color, Ashlee made me sensor it, so there is a cleaner version below.  Here is the link to the article as it was originally written, so read at your own risk.

The New Yorker
A Guide To Summer Sun Protection
by Zev Borow August 10, 2009

SPF creep has hit the triple digits with Neutrogena’s SPF 100+ sunblock, leading some dermatologists to complain that this is merely a numbers game that confuses consumers.
—The Times.

SPF 4—You’re joking, right? This is some kind of joke? 4? We make this stuff for armadillos. Or maybe you’re one of those “adrenaline junkies” looking for another freakish way to court death. Seriously, people, the sun is deadly. It’s a giant ball of fire, literally, and it will kill you . . . if you let it.
SPF 12—Great for practical jokes, if your idea of funny is making someone think they are protected from the sun’s seriously f*****g powerful and harmful rays when they’re actually not. Bonus: Comes with an “I AM, OR ONE DAY WILL BE, A DANGEROUSLY NEGLECTFUL PARENT” visor.
SPF 30—Perfect for driving all night through a rainstorm.
SPF 50—Acceptable for most summer daytime use if applied correctly, which is to say, ingested orally via four separate SPF “sunshakes,” two in the morning and two after lunch, each made with three parts sunblock lotion to two parts heavy cream. Tip: Another tasty option is our “SPF-egg-white omelette.” No carbs!
SPF 75—Slathering oneself in a good SPF 75 says something to the world. It says, “I don’t mind spending a little extra if it means doing what’s right.” And “Clearly the health of my skin is more important to me than the health of your skin is to you, and, while that is sad, all I can do is lead, because I am a leader.”
SPF 100—This is to SPF 99 and below as excellent heroin is to Capri Sun juice boxes. If you haven’t already, ask yourself: Are you gonna run with the big dogs? Or stay on the porch with the pups?
SPF 125—Remember the first time you were allowed into an airport first-class lounge? Or experienced o**l ***? Add using SPF 125 sunscreen to the list of experiences that you will never forget.
SPF 150—Nothing will make you feel as safe and protected and confident and prepared. Because SPF 150 does something more powerful than just protect you from the sun a hundred times better than the ridiculous, flimsy, paper-thin skin God gave you. SPF 150 actually repels the fear and anxiety and vulnerability and paralyzing paralysis that affects so many of us each and every time we walk outside during daylight hours. It’s patented, and made in Norway, by Norwegians. So say it out loud: The rest of your life starts now.
SPF 175—Ever wanted to have unprotected *** with a p********e in Haiti? Don’t answer. Doesn’t matter. The point is with SPF 175 that’s now an option.
SPF 200—The truth is, most people are never going to need the level of protection this lotion provides. Recently indicted? Not a problem. Being hunted by a pack of rogue genetically mutated polar bears? Have a sandwich. Take a nap. Seriously, make yourself a sandwich, then go take a nap, because there is nothing out there that you have to worry about ever again. The nightmare is over.
SPF 233—Close your eyes. Good. Now imagine a world without poverty and disease, where children of all races and religions join hands and sing old ***** spirituals, a place where the vicious cycles of boom and bust are replaced by never-ending Wonder Wheels of boom . . . and boom. SPF 233 is not inexpensive. But, in the war against the evil that is the sun, can you put a price on freedom? ♦

After collecting patients for the last year and working endlessly for the last 3 months, we finally put on the local Chicago Derm society meeting at Loyola. Barring a few minor difficulties, the meeting went off without a hitch. Check out the photos from the meeting and at Bar Louie in Oak Park afterward.

CDS 2009 Loyola Residents

I think we all had a great time at Pam’s Christmas Party. There was plenty of good food and beer and the company was naturally top notch. Enjoy the photos, and click the photo to be taken to the gallery.

Don't eat too much ice cream Josh.

I am mainly writing this to entertain my fellow dermatology residents, but also to share some cultural knowledge that I think is a great idea.  The picture is of Jessica on the left feeding Tricia (the birthday girl) on the right a piece of birthday cake.  Jessica’s family has an interesting tradition. Her husband is Indian, and it is an Indian tradition for every birthday party, that everyone present gets to feed the birthday person a bite of cake and the last person to go gets to smear the cake on their face.  Now that sounds like a great birthday tradition to me, as if we need any excuse to eat a little more cake on our birthdays. Fortunately for Tricia, only Jessica felt obligated to feed her and did not smear her with cake.  Here is another interesting tidbit from Wikipedia about birthday candles.  Enjoy.

Though the exact origin and significance of the candle blowing ritual is unknown, the history of placing candles on top of the cake is well documented. This tradition can be traced to Kinderfest (Kinder is the German word for ‘children’), an 18^th century German birthday celebration for children. A letter written in 1799 by Goethe recounts: “…when it was time for dessert, the prince’s entire livery…carried a generous-size torte with colorful flaming candles – amounting to some fifty candles – that began to melt and threatened to burn down, instead of there being enough room for candles indicating upcoming years, as is the case with children’s festivities of this kind…”. As the excerpt indicates, the tradition at the time was to place candles for each of the individual’s life with some added candles ‘indicating upcoming years’. Candles, being slow-burning, are believed to be symbolic of the passage of time. In fact, they were often used as timekeepers. The origin of birthday cake candles can be further traced back to the 16^th century German tradition of placing tapers on Christmas trees.  This tradition was then brought to North America by German immigrants. By 1927, the Sears Roebuck catalogue offered birthday candles and holders for sale.

9/6/08 – The first annual Dermatology golf outing and BBQ. Dr. Eilers won the round with a 41. A pretty good showing. Dr. Eilers also took closest to the pin on the first par 3, then on the sixth, I took longest drive, just a tad shy of 300, and Katie finished strong taking longest put on the last hole. Not a better way to spend a Saturday morning. I stole Tricia’s photos from golfing and posted those as well. After golfing we headed over to Katie’s house to have a little BBQ. The party started off nice with some good home cookin’ but rapidly degraded with a few beers into some pretty competitive rounds of corn hole. A good showing by residents and faculty. Video and photos are below.

8/2/08 – The summer AAD meeting was in Chicago this year. I learned a lot about dermatology and the future of the field. But far more interesting was the number of vendors present. Since I lived in the area and didn’t have to pack a suitcase, I took full advantage of their samples. I think I definitely have enough sunscreen, lotion, soap, and various other magic wrinkle reducing creams to at least make it until the next meeting.