Posted on August 10, 2012 in Latest News
Preparing your body for surgery in the weeks prior to surgery can have a profound impact on your recovery. Nutrition plays a key role. The better your nutritional status is before surgery, the better your body is able to heal after surgery, which means a shorter recovery time.
Several weeks before surgery is the time to begin increasing protein intake. This helps to build up both your strength and your tissue. Lean quality proteins can be found in fish, chicken, turkey, pork, eggs, nuts and seeds.
After surgery, eating small low-fat meals throughout the day usually works best. Foods like wheat toast, yogurt, soup, fruits, pudding, half sandwiches, and protein shakes are good choices. Fiber is needed to help prevent constipation. Natural sources include prunes, figs, berries, vegetables, and whole grains. Drinking plenty of liquids each day helps the fiber to work better to prevent constipation. It also helps to prevent dehydration.
Posted on July 27, 2012 in Latest News
Remember to protect your skin after cosmetic surgery….
It is always important to protect your skin from too much sun exposure. After having cosmetic surgery, it is especially important to protect surgical scars from the sun.
Incisional scars are particularly sensitive to sun exposure and can burn faster than healthy skin.
If the scar tissue gets sunburned, it can become darker and more noticeable, and it may never fade back to the color of your normal healthy skin. There is little that can be done for a healing scar once it has become sunburned.
The best approach is prevention. You should keep incisions on your body covered by clothing and wear a hat to protect your face. Fabric with a tighter weave will offer better sun protection. Remember to reapply sunscreen liberally with at least a 15 SPF. Sunscreens usually only lasts for about 2 hours and should be reapplied in sufficient quantity (about the size of a quarter for an area as large as your face and neck).
Posted on May 18, 2012 in Latest News
Is My Sunscreen Protecting Me? New FDA Rules for Products Should Make the Answer More Clear
Millions of people each year are diagnosed with skin cancer, often caused by the sun’s harmful ultraviolet-A and ultraviolet-B rays. In fact, the Mayo Clinic estimates that, from 1979 to 2009, diagnoses of melanoma (the most dangerous form of skin cancer) jumped eight times among people ages 18 to 39 – possibly due to the rise in popularity of tanning beds.
In a recent edition of the online Wall Street Journal, Elizabeth Holmes reports that
Sun Protection Factor (SPF) in some sunscreens, makeup, moisturizer, or foundation either may not be enough or only provides protection against one type of ultra-violet ray. Plus, even products that offer protection against both types of the sun’s rays needs to be applied thoroughly and frequently.
To give Americans more armor in the fight against skin cancer, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is issuing new guidelines on June 18th to make labels more clear on products that have sun protection properties, including makeup and sunscreen. The Wall Street Journal’s report indicates that a sunscreen’s SPF often only indicates defense against the sun’s U-V-B rays, not U-V-A – which can cause signs of age to appear on the skin. And even more importantly, both types of ultraviolet rays can cause skin cancer. The bottom-line is, you may be using a sunscreen with an extraordinarily high SPF and spending all day in the sun without getting burned, giving you a false sense of protection against skin cancer because U-V-A rays are still penetrating your skin.
The FDA’s new guidelines should help determine which products offer protection against both types of ultra-violet rays. The labels will say “Broad Spectrum,” along with an indication of the product’s SPF, to give consumers an idea of it’s ability to defend against both U-V-B and U-V-A rays.
Some makeup companies, like L’Oréal USA, are already adding more U-V protection ingredients to cosmetic and sunscreen products in order to comply with the FDA’s new guidelines by the time they are implemented.
Ultimately, dermatologists say you should wear a sunscreen that protects against both types of the sun’s harmful rays, with an SPF of 15 or more, every single day. The article mentions that adequate protection is about a small shot glass of sunscreen each day applied on exposed areas of the skin. This is important even in your own home, because windows typically only block U-V-B rays. Also, lip balm with at least an SPF 15, especially for the bottom lip, should be worn daily.
If you have questions about what you should look for in products that offer protection from the sun’s ultra-violet rays, or if you would like more information on skin cancer prevention and screening, please contact Dr. David Durst today.
Posted on April 12, 2012 in Latest News
I am excited to tell you about a procedure that can be done in Dr. Durst’s office. I was not happy with the “tired” look of my lower eyelids. Dr. Durst injected Juvederm® in the tear troughs of my lower eyelids. The Juvederm® plumped up my lower eyelids which gave them a smoother, more youthful appearance.
The procedure is simple. Upon your arrival at the office, a topical anesthetic cream will be applied to your lower eyelids. After 30-45 minutes, the cream is wiped off and the Juvederm® is injected in the tear troughs of the lower eyelids. The topical anesthetic cream minimizes the discomfort of the injections.
In order to reduce swelling and the risk of bruising, we recommend that you use an ice pack for a few hours after the injection. Makeup may be worn immediately after the procedure. The results of Juvederm® injections in the tear troughs typically last one year.
If you would like to see a video of my Juvederm® injection, go to our video file and click on the video that shows Dr. Durst injecting my tear troughs with Juvederm.
Melissa
