Dermatology

Too often it seems, many health professional make no serious attempt to identify skin lesions promptly, although accurate recognition is usually possible; asymptomatic skin lesions are considered trivial and are overlooked. Undiagnosed asymptomatic lesions are treated for months with topical or oral corticosteroids and or antibiotics; this postponement of appropriate treatment prolongs, discomfort, aids and abets disfigurement, not uncommonly leads to irreversible generalization of the disorder, or, most critically, to a delay in diagnosis, which can result in multisystem illness and death.

One must be aware that robust well people can have asymptomatic skin lesions that are signs of serious multisystem diseases, and these lesions cannot be overlooked without endangering the patient’s health. Certain skin changes may be encountered during routine physical examination are just as important to detect as are enlarged lymph nodes, such as, for example, early malignant melanoma in a curable stage of evolution, or the small yellow papules of hyperlipoproteinemic xanthomas, a treatable potential fatal disease.