PATIENT EDUCATION
BOILS
The professionals at The Dermatology Center of Memorial believe that informed patients are better equipped to make decisions regarding their health and well-being. For your personal use, we have created an extensive patient library covering an array of educational topics, which can be found on the side of each page. Browse through these diagnoses and treatments to learn more about topics of interest to you. Below we include a brief description of some of the Cosmetic Services we offer. Please feel free to contact our offices with questions.
As always, you can contact our office to answer any questions or concerns.
Cosmetic Services
Botox Injection
An excellent treatment for wrinkles caused by muscle movement, Botox injection is a simple procedure taking only 10 or 15 minutes which involves minimal discomfort. Botox is used to treat forehead wrinkles, crow's feet, and frown lines between the eyes. It can also be helpful on the lower face.
Juvederm
Juvederm is a hyalurinc acid filler which can be used to improve wrinkles in the lower face, plump up aging ear lobes, and fill in deep troughs under the eyes. It is not a permanent filler, lasting between six and nine months. Dr. Schwartz has found Juvederm to be a great improvement over the injection of bovine collagen which lasts a shorter amount of time and introduces and an animal substance into the body.
Restylane
Restylane is a hyaluronic acid derivative which absorbs water and adds volume to skin giving a youthful look. Hyaluronic acid is a substance which occurs naturally in skin and which diminishes with age. Injections of restylane are used to diminish deep large smile lines (nasolabial folds) and to fill out the lip and diminish wrinkles around the mouth. It can also help to fill in scars and indentations, to plump up floppy earlobes, and to decrease hollows beneath the eyes.
Other filler materials are available at our office including Radiesse. All injections of botox and filler materials at our office are personally administered by the doctor.
Also known as skin abscesses, boils form as a result of a cut or break in the skin, which leads to a bacterial infection. They are characterized as a red, tender area with a painful, pus-filled center that can open spontaneously or by surgical incision. Some boils are caused by an ingrown hair. Others are caused by plugged-up sweat glands, such as some types of cystic acne. Anyone can get a boil. They grow quickly and are usually painful until they drain. However, left alone a boil will naturally come to a head and burst open, allowing the pus to drain and the skin to heal. People with weakened immune systems are more susceptible to boils than the general population.
Boils tend to occur on parts of the body that have hair or sweat glands and are exposed to friction, typically on the face, neck, armpits or buttocks. There are a variety of different types of boils:
Furuncle or Carbuncle. These abscesses are caused by the Staphylococcus aureus bacterium. A furuncle is an individual boil; carbuncles are deep clusters of boils that most often form on the back of the neck, shoulders or thighs.
Pilonidal Cyst. An infected hair follicle around the buttocks area caused by long periods of sitting. Pilonidal cysts almost always require medical treatment.
Hidredenitis Suppurativa. These are multiple abscesses that form from blocked sweat glands in the armpits or groin areas.
Cystic Acne. These boils are situated more deeply into skin tissue than the more superficial forms of acne. It typically occurs among teenagers.
Boils respond well to home remedies. To promote healing, apply heat to the boil in the form of hot soaks or compresses. Keep the area clean, apply over-the-counter antibiotics and then cover with gauze. Do not puncture or squeeze the boil because it can lead to further infection. If the boil does not go away within two weeks, is accompanied by a fever or is painful, contact your dermatologist. The doctor will clean, lance and drain the boil and prescribe an antibiotic to alleviate the infection.