For many of us, it’s been six months or more since we visited a dermatologist, a dentist or an optometrist. Our skin, teeth and eyes may be in need of attention, but the fear of Covid-19 infections has kept us at home. How safe is it to visit a doctor these days? For dermatology issues, it is possible to do telehealth by showing the doctor the issue on an iphone, but it’s harder to keep your teeth cleaned remotely or your eyes checked reliably, not to mention your hearing.
Dentistry is fraught with potential infectious opportunities. As the dentist hovers over you, there is danger to the dentist as well as you. What is in your mouth is spraying all over, and given the asymptomatic nature of Covid-19, it is not always possible to be sure that your dentist is negative, and it is hard for them to know if you are either. Most dentists have taken extreme precautions, by wearing masks as well as shields, gloves, asking patients to wait in their cars until their appointment time, and testing their employees every week. For a dental emergency like a cracked tooth or infection, there may be no alternative but to seek care. For routine cleanings, however, many people are waiting to see if the Covid-19 infection rates decline and flossing and doing their best at home to stay healthy.
The danger of waiting to contact a dermatologist is another problem. Melanoma can develop quickly, and waiting to have a mole looked at can be a life and death issue. Fortunately, a good dermatologist can tell a lot from a photo, and if necessary urge a patient to see someone in person. Since most dermatological problems can be solved with a prescription or a topical product, having your dermatologist look at your problem via telehealth may be the best option for now.
As for eyes and ears — I suspect that many of us have seen a decline in our eyesight or hearing in the past six months, but getting to an optometrist or audiologist is not easy. In order to diagnose and test, the practitioner has to be very close to your face, and I know that I have put off those visits, hoping that it would feel safer to be in that type of contact by now. Being able to see and hear, however, is an important part of mental health, so I suspect that I will have to put my mask on and take the risk sooner rather than later.
The good news is that most medical professionals have taken extraordinary care to sanitize and protect themselves and their patients. Doctors’ offices are safer and cleaner than they ever were. But waiting too long to get care if you have a problem is likely to be more risky than showing up. If you decide you need to see your practitioner, you should call, ask what precautions they are taking, and tell them your situation. They may be able to help you sort out the risk of an in-person visit vs. waiting. Probably the best advice is not to wait too long to get a problem checked out.
Linda — great advice, as always.
We can do a lot to keep our teeth clean on our own. Now is a good time to develop good daily habits if we don’t already have them. Dentists always recommend floss, but personally I hate floss — it gets stuck in my fillings. I use a gum stimulator on the end of my toothbrush every day. That’s been my habit ever since Dr. Donald (remember him in Santa Cruz?) taught me how to use it back in about 1985. I get my teeth cleaned at the dentist about every 18 months and my teeth and gums are very healthy.
Very good advice. Those water piks are good too.
Good morning Linda – very well written and informative. Many thanks and stay well, and keep writing. I did go to see my dentist and everything you said was tru with him, also I had to see my Dermatologist, that was less pleasant. However, I am still not quite ready to accept the fact that this may be our “new normal”, and do hope that somehow something will happen to go back to where we were. After having to leave Germany, then spending 12 years in Bolivia, being married to a Bi-Polar man for 40 years, I was looking forward to getting old in peace. Have a great day, and thanks again. Ursula