It turned out that the dermatologist doesn't accept appointments via phone. My mom, my great benefactor, decided that we should just go to the hospital where one of the dermatologist's clinics are located.
The next day at ten in the morning, we were already outside the clinic. We were told that the dermatologist is very popular and flocks of people go to her like sheep looking for green pasture. The clinic hours are from 11:00 am to 12:30 pm, everyday at the hospital. In the afternoons, she can be found in her other two clinics in Divisoria and at Robinson's. I was already number six on the list and more people came in list down their names after mine.
I was the only male patient waiting for the dermatologist to arrive. People looked at me with interest. They were amazed with my height and I have gotten used to people looking from my feet to my head. Two women beside me were talking about white spots on their skins. One woman said that she was advised to eat a lot of seafood.
It was around 12:30 pm when my name was called. My mom and I were already very hungry and were tortured with the scent of grilled pork wafting from a nearby restaurant. Dr. de la Paz, my dermatologist, greeted me and asked me to sit down. I then explained to her the diagnosis of my previous doctor as she listened intently with occassional nodding of her head.
After examining my arms, my tummy and my chest, she laughed and said "It's not scabies. See the scaling?" She touched a bump on my tummy." It's not fungi." She spread out a book filled with pictures of all kinds of skin diseases and pointed to a page." This is pityriasis rosea. it's not serious, just inconvenient. The cause for this is unknown but they appear when the skin reacts to the weather. They can be itchy and the marks disappear after three months if they are not treated and new bumps appear everyday."
As she wrote on her prescription pad, she smiled and said "Don't worry. I have had many patients with this skin condition recently. The weather is a bit unstable nowadays. Sometimes, it's too hot, sometimes, it's too cold. Your skin is not used to the weather fluctuations." I have sensitive skin after all!
She prescribed betamethasone lotion for the red bumps, cetirizine tablets, a kind of antihistamine, in case I couldn't stand the itching, and, Dove soap and baby lotion to moisturize my skin. I need to constantly moisturize to prevent the occurence of pityriasis rosea.
After lunch, my mo and I went to Robinson's to buy some groceries and the stuff for my new beauty regimen. I learned that there are many types of Dove soap. There is the Cream Bar with moisturizing cream, a Fresh Moisture Bar with hydrating milk, cucumber and green tea, a Pink Bar and a Beauty Bar(see the difference in seven days!). There were some boxes with a sticker that said " Take care of your skin and a girl's self-esteem". One peso of my purchase would go to the Dove Self-Esteem Fund. I chose the Cream Bar because it has moisturizing cream but I vowed to try the Fresh Moisture Bar the next time I buy Dove.
My mom handed me a big bottle of Johnson's Baby Softlotion 24-Hour Moisture. She has been a lotion user for as far as I can remember so i trust her judgment. If i have enough money in the future, I plan to try high-end moisturizing lotions and skin care products. but, i won't go along with the skin whitening craze. I love the fact that I have a lot of melanin in my skin and they will protect me from skin cancer caused by UV from the sun's rays. The ozone layer is thinning, so I need all the melanin I have. I would also probably venture into SPF lotions.
When we got home, I was greeted with mantras of I-told-you-so's from my relatives. The short lectures on going to th specialist when having health problems continued for three days, delivered by a different relative every few hours. Friends, also sent me SMS's chastising me for my rash decision of quitting my job."You already had a job!" they exclaimed."You just threw it away for a wrong diagnosis." Mini lectures on going to the specialist when having health problems subsequently appeared on my phone.
I was so relieved that i didn't have scabies. If I did, I would have suffered severe psychological trauma and my obsessive-compulsiveness would have kicked into overdrive. I would have imploded from intense misery, self-pity and a dash of existential angst. Since, all I have to do from now on is wash myself with Dove and rub myself with baby lotion, I will be able to take care of my skin and my self-esteem.
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