A dermatologist said that patients should not always believe what their doctors say unless studies and research have been made on their prescribed medicines.
“Even if the doctor is very good, he can sometimes be wrong,” Dr, Grace Carole Beltran, said. A dermatologist, aesthetic surgeon and a pathology dermatologist, she was the guest in the most recent Media Health Forum of Bauertek Corporation.
She stressed that aside from the doctor’s advice and promotion of medical products, it is also important for patients to do their own study and research.
“It does not mean that if the doctor said it was okay, it is right to believe him. You as a patient also have to do your own research,” Beltran explained.
She said that taking fake medicines has many side effects and patients should take extra care.
Medical cannabis
Beltran disclosed that to date, medical cannabis or marijuana, the legalization for its use of which is being pushed in the Philippines at the Senate and House of Representatives, is also being used by dermatologists.
The plant is used for acne, tropic dermatitis and others. Although it is still under study and in its infantile stage, it has the potential to be recommended for lupus and other ailments, according to Beltran.
Richard Nixon Gomez, general manager of Baurtek Corporation, meanwhile said that cannabis is being used as additives for dermatological purposes like cream with its CBD or cannabidiol, which is its second most prevalent active ingredient.
Both Beltran and Gomez said that cosmetics extracts from marijuana should not contain THC or tetrahydrocannabinol or the chemical that gets people “high.”
CBD or Cannabidiol, on the other hand, has no intoxicating effects and can treat a wide range of symptoms.
