Digvijay Prasad (not his real name) has seriously considered committing suicide several times! His body is covered with red patches and skin is peeling off. The daily distress caused by people steering clear of him is something he still hasn’t quite come to grips with.
Prasad is suffering from psoriasis, a common skin disease caused by immunological disturbances in the body. Though not infectious, it leads, more often than not, to sufferers being socially ostracized. However, there’s hope. For 15 years, Psolaren Ultra Violet A (PUVA) therapy has been used in India to control skin diseases like Prasad’s. Now, due to the initiative and resolve of the Department of Skin and STD at the BYL Nair Charitable Hospital, there’s an improved and modified therapy available known as the Ultra Violet B (UVB) Photo therapy. The unit is only the second of its kind in India, and the first in a public hospital. The department and the hospital’s engineers, rather than importing the UV machine, have designed and manufactured it indigenously (except for the ultra violet tubes), bringing down the cost by 70 odd per cent.
The unit at Nair has been functional since January but the project took well over two years for the department to put together. Bureaucratic hassles and a lack of such units in India did not help matters. Besides the financial viability, the treatment has proved to be less carcinogenic than PUVA and also obliterates the need to take medication internally. PUVA therapy, though beneficial in controlling the growth of the diseases, was riddled with side effects like nausea, vomiting and headaches. UVB is free from these, so it can easily be used by pregnant women, children and elderly people. Another advantage is that with UVB, a patient has to spend only a few seconds in the chamber receiving the ultra violet radiation unlike PUVA therapy where it can be as long as 30 minutes, which is frightening for some patients. Also, with the cut–down in time, many more patients can be attended to. UVB therapy is also effective for Leucoderma in certain conditions.
A 70 year old man who has psoriasis, comes from Kamathipura thrice a week for his treatment. He was one of the first patients to be administered UVB therapy. His wrinkled face breaks into a smile when asked how he feels. Since the machine has been in operation only for the last two months, doctors don’t have an exact idea of how well the system will work. Finally, both PUVA and UVB therapy cannot cure Psoriasis or Leucoderma completely. However, they can successfully control them.
A new method to get rid of scars and pigmentation – Painless, inexpensive and quick:
Micro–Epidermabrasion is what this method is called and Dr. Dilip Shah is responsible for bringing this specific treatment not only to Pune but to our country. Walk into Dr. Shah’s office (opp. residency club) and you will realize that you are not in the hands of a beginner. Meet him and you will further realize that you are now in the hands of a professional who can cure you of practically any skin condition which might need treatment.
Skin is the largest organ in our body and needs particular care and attention. Everyone wants to look their best, thus having a pimple or a blemish affects the way we look at ourselves. If it were in our control we would like to be as perfect as we could. So what would you do if your skin could be blemish free and a “Peaches and cream” complexion would no longer be a blessing?
Micro Epidermabrasion brings the phrase “Blemish free” to you. Just for you to equip yourself with how this works, we asked Dr. Shah to explain this procedure. “This is an Italian technique and involves aluminum hydroxide micro crystals. These are in turn released with negative pressure which lift the skin or micro abrade the upper layer of the skin. This takes a maximum of 3–4 minutes. Sessions last 1–2 weeks and you are required to go through 8–10 sittings before the procedure is complete”, says Shah.
This treatment has replaced the older treatment of “Derm Abrasion”. There are marked differences between the two. During the procedure of Derm Abrasion, the patient requires anesthesia and surgery at an operation theatre. Rest of 3–4 weeks is prescribed and one has to take pre–medication. None of this pertains to Micro Epidermabrasion. Infact one can apply make up immediately and there are absolutely no side affects.
Dr. Shah, as mentioned earlier has brought “Exfoliance”, a machine, to India. He has been treating patients suffering from acne scars and pigmentation problems for 13 months now and the response has been tremendous. 1300 patients have undergone this procedure and 90% are happy and say the results have gone beyond their expectations. Dr. Shah charges INR 400 per sitting.
So the next time you have a problem with your skin, do not feel like it cannot be helped. It can, and now you even know where. Dr Shah is on the panel of doctors at aarogya and can answer to any queries that you may have. So feel free to contact us and maybe we can help you. Till then try and incorporate the saying:
“You are beautiful, you only have to look within yourself to find what you so desire”.
