Treatment of Rosacea in Indianapolis

Rosacea is an incredibly common skin condition, affecting an extimated 14 million Americans. It affects women about three times as often as men and appears most commonly as flushing and red blotches on the cheeks and nose as well as the chin and forehead. In more advanced cases, tiny pimple-like bumps and small discrete blood vessels appear as well. Eventually if the condition progresses, the skin will thicken and raise creating a coarse texture. Not every patient actually moves beyond the red discoloration or 'slap face' appearance and there is no predicting whether rosacea will become progressive in any patient. In fact, no one knows what causes rosacea or how to prevent it. And there is no single theory of causation that is universally agreed on. ( inflammatory proteins vs. microscopic mites in the hair follicles) While rosacea can appear in anyone, it is more common in fair-skinned middle-aged (30 to 50) individuals.
Prevention of flaring in rosacea is important. There are some established triggers to rosacea and include sun exposure, emotional stress, hot weather, excessive exercise, alcohol and spicy foods which top the list. To those afflicted, avoidance of these situations when possible requires simple behavior modification.
Actual treatment of rosacea includes a variety of topical and oral medications as well as light and laser therapies. At Ology, we see a fair number of rosacea patients. Many have been on topical creams and oral antibiotics as a first-line approach with their dermatologist. When these fail, our approach has been to use pulsed light for generalized redness and the 1064nm wavelength laser for specific telangectasias or spider veins. Our version of pulsed light is broad band light (BBL) using either 560 or 590nm filters. This requires a series of treatments using different energy levels and depth of light penentration. Usually it takes a series of trials varying the fluence and milliseconds to find a good combination for each specific patient. That is why it takes multiple treatments and good patience on both sides for a BBL treatment program that may work. In some cases we will combine BBL treatments with athome topical niacin cream. (NIA 24) It would seem contradictory that a topical agent that causes flushing would be helpful, but it seems to work in some cases.
While not every patient seen can get great results, our experience with light and laser therapies for the problematic and very symptomatic rosacea patient offers hope for a skin condition that frequently defies standard medical treatments.
Dr. Barry Eppley
http://www.eppleyplasticsurgery.com
http://www/ologymd.com
Clarian North Medical Center, Carmel, Indiana
Clarian West Medical Center, Avon, Indiana
Indianapolis

Tips for Management of EyeBrow Shape

Whether it is doing a browlift surgery, having brows put on by micropigmentation (tattooing or permanent makeup), or simply waxing a brow, understanding what makes an eyebrow look good is important. There are several basic considerations to know.
In general, the classic medium-arched brow works best for most people. This means the peak of the arch of the brow is directly along a vertical line above the pupil. If the peak of the arch is closer to the nose or too far to the side, this creates a very unnatural appearance that at its worst can appear cartoonish. But it is equally important to take into account your overall facial shape and proportions. If you have a larger face with strong features (bone prominences), then a thicker brow is more proportionate. Conversely, a thin face with small features needs a thinner brow. (lest you look like Groucho Marx) The wider the face, the more the tail of the eyebrow should extend out. In thin faces, the tail of the eyebrow should barely goes past the corner of the eye. The color of the eyebrow is equally important. As a guideline, the eyebrows should be one shade lighter than your own hair......never darker. If it is even the same shade, the eyebrows make look too heavy unless they are quite thin. Pay attention to your lipstick color as well. Your eyebrows should be a shade between your hair color and lipstick color so there is a natural transition between the facial areas.
Enhancing the eyebrows can be done with a pencil, powder, or a pomade. Powders and pomades are good for adding volume to existing eyebrows which have a good hair density, albeit thinner hairs. Pencils are good for filling in for missing hairs or brow lines and create a more dramatic effect.
Dr. Barry Eppley
http://www.eppleyplasticsurgery.com
http://www.ologyspa.com
Indianapolis

Sun Protection Of Your Lips

The public's increased awareness of skin cancer and the necessary precautions to prevent it has placed a major emphasis on sun protection through SPF and SFA levels in skin creams and ointments. But often forgotten in facial skin protection is that of the lips. In fact, the wearing of lip glosses may actually increase the amount of ultraviolet rays that get to the lips. Since many lip glosses are clear and shiny, they may serve as a light magnifier but, at the least, they certainly provide no ultraviolet ray protection.
Since skin cancer of the lip is not rare, SPF protection of the lips seems like a good idea. While many lip balms and ointments do contain some SPF protection, it is usually 20 or less....not enough to match the SPF 30 or greater that is recommended for skin. While some lip products do contain SPF 30, they are few in number and harder to find. Darkly pigmented lip glosses or those with darker shades probably do offer some sun protection due to their density and color but their actual contribution to the amount of SPF protection is not known.
I recommend to my patients that they wear lip protection with an SPF of 30 or greater on their lips when they are outside any significant amount of time. At the least consider applying a sun protectant underneath your lip color before application. We wil probably see in the near future a wide variety of lip glosses that have good SPF levels but until then.....
Dr. Barry Eppley
http://www.eppleyplasticsurgery.com
http://www.ologyspa.com
Clarian North Medical Center, Carmel, Indiana
Clarian West Medical Center, Avon, Indiana
Indianapolis

Ology Spa in Indianapolis and Hospital Spas

In the July 2008 issue of MASSAGE magazine, Ology Spas was one of the four featured hospital spas in a feature article entitled ' Hospitals Spas: A Prosperous Partnership'. While medical spas are now commonplace, most of these businesses operate around a limited number of services, mainly cosmetic treatments, of which Botox makes up most of their medical services. Hospital spas, however, take these and other wellness services to an entirely new level.
Most hospital spas, like Ology, offer extensive aesthetic treatments but our location within a large medical facility makes the wellness component of our service menu that much more important. Massage, acupuncture, ayurvedic therapies, and anti-aging and regenerative medicine are important components if one is to provide health and wellness services. In some ways, a hospital spa makes a traditional medical facility more aware and potentially more accepting of complementary medicine's treatment options.
The design and interior decor must also promote a tranquil environment that not only provides an excellent patient experience but a healing environment as well. Organic colors, bamboo, cork, and stone natural materials, soft music and aromatherapy are some of the elements that make a more optimal healing environment. Ology Spas was designed with these design elements in mind and is regularly commented on both both spa and cosmetic guest alike.
Since its first location opening in 2004, Ology Spas has worked hard to bring the complete package of what we call the 'Wellness Triangle'. Spa therapies, Plastic Surgery, and Anti-Aging Medicine represents the legs of that triangle. With our addition of anti-aging medicine here in 2008, Ology Spas now has a complete service menu and the only such hospital facility to do so ini the United States to date.
Dr. Barry Eppley
http://www.eppleyplasticsurgery.com
http://www.ologyspa.com
Clarian North Medical Center, Carmel, Indiana
Clarian West Medical Center, Avon, Indiana
Indianapolis