The Face

I finally decided, it's too much of a hassle to keep typing the number of each post. It was a good idea at first, but, unfortunately, I can't keep at it.

Anyway, I went to get a facial extraction because my clogged pores were really getting to me, and since I rejected my dermatologist's idea to take medications for it (I was prescribed spironolactone to control the hormones and doxycycline to control the bacteria), I had to work on other ways. First off, even though I am a pharmacy student, I believe that the first treatment to attempt is lifestyle changes-- take control your lifestyle and let your body work at its best. Of course, this is difficult while a student because so many times, I choose studying over exercise. So many times, I chose brain work over taking care of myself. It's time to make a new habit and actually listen to the same principles we are taught to tell patients-- adherence is key to reaching the therapeutic goal.

To prevent my acne from becoming cystic and inflamed (like it did 4 years ago), I started eating more oranges. I also started drinking way more water than I used to, which isn't saying much since I only drank water when I felt thirsty (which I knew was not the right way to stay hydrated). My goal is to finish about 2 bottles of water in the morning and 4 more bottles before the day ends-- I use refillable plastic sports bottles. The body has the ability to clean out all the toxins and dirt to keep itself healthy and clean. In the meantime, I have been finding facial extractions to be very helpful in removing the current dirt clogging my pores. Yesterday, I went to Skin Resolutions in Monterey Park, and the lady named Renee did an absolutely fabulous job explaining the face and skin. Her skills lie with her experience, and not only did she explain what she was doing, she told me how to make changes to prevent these clogged pores (this made me think about how pharmacists are pushing for preventive care and medicine by advocating health screening services and free clinics, at least that's what I see in the USC area). PREVENTION IS KEY, that's what we are taught. It's so true though. It's easier to prevent a disease than to treat it. Also to note, prevention strategies overlap so much for multiple diseases/conditions, while treatment strategies are more specific (there are a few overlaps). I can talk about that some other time though. Renee worked at an acne clinic when she was learning to be an aesthetician, so she has specialized techniques, and through her 18 years of work, she has developed complete confidence in the success of her abilities. Not only that, she enjoys her work. All these factors combined make me, as her client, much more inclined to trust her and believe in her abilities as well.

Something I learned about how to read the face and connect it with the body: acne on the forehead means indigestion. The body is reacting to what or how you are eating. She told me how she identified a cause for the acne of one of her clients-- it was peanut butter. Acne on the cheeks mean the liver is not detoxifying the whole body as it should be-- possibly because of staying up late. In Chinese medicine (which I am still very much interested in learning), the liver's activity is greatest between 11pm and 3am, so the ideally, the body is resting during that time to recuperate. Again, difficult to sleep by 11pm right now as a pharmacy student, but I try. Now, acne around the jaw line and chin means unstable hormone levels. Difficult for females to remain stable when we have monthly cycles, but apparently, if PMS is more severe, the hormone levels are more unstable. So, one sign to look out for is PMS, I guess. Exercise can stabilize hormones. So eat right, sleep right, and exercise. Sounds simple to do, right?

What results have I seen thus far? It's been 3 weeks since I started drinking a lot more, and my skin does feel more hydrated and fewer new clogs. The aestheticians I've been to have all said the same thing regarding water: the more you drink, the less need for your body to produce oils to keep your skin hydrated. Less oil produced means less oil clogging the pores, which can trap the dirt and bacteria inside. Oranges, I am not sure if I see a difference, but diet is not something that changes you that quickly. It also doesn't help that I'm not very consistent with the intake (student life). Yesterday's facial extraction was painful (so much blood and sweat), but my face is smooth again, though there is much healing needed for the next 3 days or so. My internal system now has to keep it that way.

I went to Trader Joe's later in the evening after my facial extraction, and I tried to keep my face up and smile, basically disregard all the unmet gazes and turned faces. It's an interesting experience, but I would hate to have that happen to me periodically. People see your reddened, splotchy face and can't keep looking at you. As a result, it's also difficult to make a conversation with people because they don't make eye contact. But, like all things that can potentially pull you down, keep your head high and be confident. Exude confidence.

CXVIII : Last Winter Break

Sad to say, but I have to come to terms with the fact that this past break is my last official winter break. No more will I be sure that I can get these 3 weeks off from mid-December to January, with no more studying, no more stressing out about schoolwork, just feeling like life has begun again. It really felt like once break started, life began. And so soon now, break will end, and my life will feel like it's in a bubble again.

Well, gotta look ahead, keep striving, and continue on! A new year for new moments, new opportunities, new findings, new accomplishments.

CXVII : Limits

I've never really been good at placing limits from the beginning. Instead, I would go through things, and then realize if I could or could not handle it. I'd give it a chance, a test, first. Mix that with the sometimes unreasonable desire to finish what I started, and you get over-stress and end results that hit far from potential. This is what I think about now when I imagine any position involved in the medical world in general.

It is ideal and best to practice/work imagining the one you are caring for is your own family, or whomever is an important person in your world. It's true that this mindset works to provide the best care for patients, but it is only possible in a select few environments. For example, if you make the medications for people, think that the med is for yourself or someone important to you. You would be extra careful to make it safe and correct. However, imagine you're working for people who are mistaken about the importance of your job, who are irritable because of their long stay in the hospital, who are already stressed out from their health endeavors, and who have the feeling of gratefulness far in the back of their minds, it is difficult to treat every patient name you see as someone important to you because when they come, you question, "why do I go through all this work for you when you come to demand selfishly for everything to go your way, regardless of the consequences?"

I had the opportunity to work in Infusion Care for a few weeks, and although I did not have to actually see patients come pick up their medications and supplies, I had to call and receive calls about them. It really felt like they were ordering food from us and we would deliver. Some were knowledgeable about the system, but others were not. In Infusion Care, I dealt mostly with enterals-- the supplies and nutritional content (aka milk formula) needed for patients who could not swallow and had to be fed through tubes, or for premature infants who needed that extra nutrition to grow. We try to work with the patients, but if they call us when the're already completely out of the 'milk,' it makes it difficult for us because we order as needed. This means that our inventory is only stocked with the most common, cheaper formulas. Anything more special is ordered specifically for that individual and takes at least a day to come in. It's hard to want to give the best care when patients have this idea that whenever and whatever they ask for, they'll get.

This leads me to separate myself from patients. I'll try to take care of you the best I can, but their life and their problems are not my worries and not personal to me. So, even though I am going to work with their best interest in mind, I am also going to keep myself distanced enough to not be affected and overwhelmed. It seems harsh to be in the health profession and be detached from the patients you care for, but there has to be limits to how much care to give or else you end up giving only subpar care to everyone.