7 When looking for skin cancer, pay as much attention to the owner as to the lesion. The most common skin cancers—basal cell and squamous cell carcinoma—usually occur on sun-damaged, fair-skinned, blue-eyed older patients. Though there are certainly exceptions to this paradigm, it pays to be generally suspicious of any odd lesion seen on these patients (Figure 8).
8 It’s practically impossible to overstate the role of atopy when evaluating pediatric skin complaints. These children—20% of all newborns!—are born with thin, dry, sensitive, overreactive skin that is prone to eczema and urticaria. They will also have a marked tendency to develop seasonal allergies, allergic rhinitis, and asthma. Parents find it difficult to accept the genetic basis for atopic dermatitis (Figure 9), preferring instead to blame everything on laundry detergent or food. Education (of oneself first!) is the key.
9 “Infections” are not always what they seem. These pearls may help: a) There are many causes of localized erythema, swelling, and tenderness that have nothing to do with infection. Examples include relapsing polychondritis (Figure 10) and cutaneous lupus (Figure 11). b) Skin cancer, such as basal cell carcinoma (see Figure 12), is often mistaken for infection. c) Some infections have less conventional or obvious sources; those caused by atypical mycobacteria (see Figure 13), leishmaniasis (see Figure 14), and sporothrix (see Figure 15), are good examples of this phenomenon. Consider thinking outside the box.
10 Overcome your fear of steroids by educating yourself about their safe use. Glucocorticoids (eg, triamcinolone, prednisone, betamethasone) are extremely useful in treating common derm conditions. We see patients every day who are so frightened of steroids, they won’t even consider using them because some well-meaning medical provider scared them to death. The proper use of these miraculous products could easily be the subject of an entire article. For now, I’ll advise you to read about their safe use in any number of dermatology texts (including online publications).
