What Do You Wish Your Patients Would Stop Doing?

I wish my clients would stop licking their contact lenses and putting them back in their eye. They would be better off rinsing the contacts in a toilet than in their mouth, because the toilet has fewer germs!

I wish they would stop: Running to the mirror after surgery expecting to see the final results Smoking, and yes, lying about smoking (we can smell you!) Sunbathing (wrinkles, sun spots and skin cancer are NOT pretty) Picking, squeezing, scratching at pimples Waiting til 5:01 on Friday afternoon to call the office with a problem they've known about all day

I really wish my clients would stop going in the sun without sunscreen. I can’t emphasize enough just how damaging the sun can be to the skin. I also wish my clients would stop hopping around from one product to another in pursuit of the best deal or cheapest price possible. Most of the less expensive products sold over the counter in the chain drugstores will never achieve any results. The ingredients are not very good and you can easily start developing skin allergies. You... more

The biggest wish I have for my patients is to refrain from smoking. It is absolutely the worst thing you can do to yourself in regard to speeding up the aging process, especially of the skin. In addition to the severe cardiovascular and respiratory problems it causes, smoking also negatively affects the healing process after surgery.

I have discovered over the years that the best surgical results are found in patients who do not have a history of smoking and those with minimal sun damage.  

Using expensive, highly publicized products that may have no proven benefits before consulting their dermatologist.

Sunbathing to get a healthy tan. With so many self tanning and bronzing products available today, there are easier and safer ways to get a bronzed look, if that is what you are looking for.

I wish my patients would stop using their teeth as tools to chew ice, chew bones, open wrappers, hold pins, etc.

Overdoing with the sun is what my clients should stop doing. We have such an active lifestyle, and you don't want to begrudge people their outdoor activities, but know that that comes with a price your skin has to pay for. So organize your activities early in the day or late in the afternoon whenever you can.