Is the doctor in?

The medical profession used to look down at those specializing in the field of dermatology. Would-be dermatologists, in fact, had to pay — unlike their colleagues in other branches of medicine — to be able to specialize at hospitals.

Today, we have celebrity doctors — with Dr. Vicki Belo as the superstar. Well, she did overhaul the landscape of the medical field and she deserves credit for that.

I don’t understand why the medical profession didn’t immediately stress the importance of skin care when the skin is the biggest organ of the body. Maybe because there wasn’t that much pollution back then and people had less skin problems — or so they thought. 

Dermatology isn’t only about pimples and acne and giving the patient flawless skin. There had always been other skin concerns that people in the past didn’t give much attention to because, well, those were just skin-deep.   

In my case, I was born a wee bit early before this side of the world recognized that skin problems were indeed problems. Until age 12, I had good and fair skin. But over time, I began to suffer from a certain allergy that gave me pimples and acne. The outward manifestations were the least of my concerns. There were times when I’d feel so itchy from within that I had to jump into a cold shower to relieve the discomfort that sometimes didn’t go away.  

My parents kept insisting that it was just a phase that would go away. It didn’t — until I took matters into my own hands.

I was already doing TV that time when I sought out the services of a dermatologist since I was starting to breakout relentlessly due to studio makeup. I was new then and still obedient. They slapped foundation on my face without any protestation. Now, it’s really just powder, please. But I had not yet earned the right to say no in those days and dutifully obeyed everything I was told to do. The problem was my skin easily reacted to certain cosmetics and grew more pimples and acne.

Upon the recommendation of a well-meaning friend I went to a lady dermatologist who then fancied herself as the doctor to the stars. Dr. Belo was just on her third or fourth year of practice and only had a small clinic in Makati — with Toni Rose Gayda among her first celebrity clients.

I still remember my first visit to this lady derma. At the reception area of her clinic waited about a dozen people and we kept ourselves entertained either by reading magazines or staring and surreptitiously checking out each other’s zits. 

But for all that waiting we did and the cash we pumped into her coffers, our condition didn’t improve (out of sheer boredom, we’d share stories about our treatments). I lasted only four sessions. After she burned my skin that made me go into hiding, my pimples went into a rage until my face became an even more famous tourists’ attraction than the Chocolate Hills. I only had to have a pet tarsier and I would have been mistaken for Bohol province.

When my doctor brother realized the complications of my problem — I was on TV and was pimply — he finally called up his former classmate at med school who specialized in dermatology. Her name is Dr. Carol Salonga. She managed to arrest the situation, except that she became Dr. Carol Adau along the way and enjoyed her married life. I was again without a derma.

Mercifully, Dr. Belo came into my life and, later, Flawless, the setup of which was perfect for my schedule. Flawless clinics are open until mall hours and I’d always be the patient huffing and puffing before closing time.

While I can never look like Flawless endorser Richard Gutierrez, I can say that I have already stopped worrying about my acne and pimples after finding the most wonderful dermatologists at both Flawless and Belo Medical clinics. I now enjoy my skin.

It may have been a long and difficult journey for me to find the right doctors for my skin problems, but I can already share with you pieces of advice on how you can tell if the dermatologist treating you is the right one for you and your skin. Allow me to get under your skin with the following tips:

• A good and competent doctor will never resort to hard sell. My first derma — yes, the one who burned my skin — sold everything in her clinic to me, save for the bathroom sink. In the reception area alone, her secretary was always busy peddling the services of another doctor who does nose jobs. That secretary had it herself, except that she didn’t prove to be the best walking advertisement for that surgical operation and there were no takers.

If a derma gives you a particular topical medicine, always ask what that is for. Be curious and quiz the doctor about the ingredients and what it will do for your skin. A dermatologist worth her ointment will never push products and will only recommend what you need to arrest problems and improve your skin condition.

• Observe if the derma does the treatment in a perfunctory manner. If the doctor goes about mindlessly with your procedures and doesn’t give you full concentration, stop the visits. I recall a particular incident at Flawless Greenhills, which is always packed with clients. The attending physician, Dr. Margaux Cu, was aware that there was a long line of patients after my turn and the others were practically doing headstands to get her attention. But she never lost focus and concentrated on me and me alone. After we were done, she proceeded to treat the next patient and I saw her give the same amount of attention that I got from her. This you have to insist: When it’s your turn, you should be the whole world to your doctor.

One of the pioneering dermatologists some 30 years ago would come in late for her appointments and prescribed the same medicine for all patients who waited for her without checking each one individually. Her former clients still gripe about that.

• A doctor you can trust is someone who would say when enough is enough. A lot of patients actually get addicted to procedures and would beg for more. If your derma tells you to go easy and wait for a certain period because you don’t need it yet and will just be flushing money down the toilet for such an unnecessary treatment, stick to that doctor. That may mean less income for the clinic, but in the process the doctor would earn another friend and that should be you. Make that derma your true pal and nourish the friendship. Treasure the fact that not only have you discovered a good doctor, you also found a true and honest friend. 

(On Thursday: More tips, plus horror stories from your not-so-friendly dermatologists.)