Treat the Patient as a Whole

Treat the patient as a whole. - Dr. Gangha

If the patient has a chalazion, don't just treat the lump. If you take some time to look at the patient's face, you might notice florid acne, which means the patient has very active sebaceous glands and his chalazion might recur. In fact, he might benefit from a dermatology referral and treatment with oral doxycycline.

If the patient has allergic conjunctivitis, don't just treat the red eyes. If you take some time to look at the patient's elbow, you might notice he has bad eczema. Upon questioning the patient might have been missing physical education classes because of asthma.

If the patient has suspected thyroid eye disease, you request to look at her old photos for comparison. In the process, the girl revealed that she had not had a birthday celebration for many years and she felt sad about it. During the next consultation, she brings a few photos and you jokingly tell the mum, only if there were birthday photos for yearly comparison.

Moral of the stories: treat the patient as a whole.