We Want Solutions, Not Lectures!!!

I find your responses to be irritating. Specifically, they take on a condescending tone, are pointless as most recommend seeking medical advice. What is the point in this forum if that is the pat answer. Of course they should seek medical advice.

Sometimes people just want encouragement and hope. Not a …”you should do this… you need to do that… Not helpful at all. Sorry, that is just my observation.

I have not been able to find many (if any) articles on the internet that indicate relief of symptoms and offering a solution.

We just want a solution, not a lecture.

Your point is well taken, but please recognize that many people who write to me want a medical opinion on their condition, something that I can not give without examining a patient and without being able to ask questions. Also, many times my hands are tied by legal restrictions (I am a doctor, but not the doctor of those writing in) and therefore the best suggestion I can give is to visit their doctor. 95%+ of patients seen by the doctor can have a diagnosis by taking a careful history with good observation. This is particularly the case in diseases of the skin and hair where x-rays and blood tests are generally not needed, just experience and skills in the art of diagnosis. Telling me in an email that “my scalp itches” does not tell me much that I can use in diagnosis or offering relief. For example, last week I posted a question from a reader that said it felt like something was crawling around his scalp and I suggested that he might have head lice. In a situation where I could do a face-to-face examination, I would have seen the head lice crawling around his scalp had that been the right diagnosis.

You asked for solutions that bring relief. If that was so simple, then the doctor’s role of history taking and examination would have no value. I offer 2-3 hours a day to the blog to help when I can (sometimes more, sometimes weekends), and many, many emails are screened. I wish it was an easy task, and if only life were simple! As you can see, I volunteer my services on this blog and do not make my living from doing it, but what I do get from the effort was a way to stay in touch with people and a reason to research many of the questions that had great value to my learning experience. Even at 66 years old, I am still a student.