Peddling Skin Care Products

On my daily drive home through the forests and farmlands surrounding Elma occasionally I switch the radio from my trusted local NPR affiliate to the Air America station out of Seattle to catch a little bit of Rachel Maddow.  AM1090 helps remind me that while I often feel like a left-wing liberal from an Elma perspective I’m really not that far out there compared to man big city folks.

Maddow’s self acclaimed ”lefty rabblerousing” always presents her side from a very rational and impassionate perspective which seems to always bolster her arguments instead of the stereotypical bleeding heart liberal approach.  On MSNBC her debates with Pat Buchanan are entertaining and informative.  Then her radio show goes to commercial and she starts peddling Night Skin anti-aging cream.  The dissonance is profound.

Maddow sells herself out on a daily basis by promoting a cream pushed by Harvard trained plastic surgeon Arthur Perry, MD meant to “turn back the clock” for women.  The ads also note that Dr. Perry often will recommend his product as a lead up to more invasive plastic surgery.  This physician does not treat disease only desire.

Dr. Perry and his product represent the worst in US health care capitalism that Maddow often critiques.  Instead of promoting overall healthy lifestyles and self-acceptance cosmetic dermatologists and many plastic surgeons offer superficial solutions.  They take their training, largely supported with public funds through student loans and Medicare support of residency programs, and use this training not to further the health and welfare of their community, but to sell their snake-oil and make their fortune.

I must admit that our practice has considered purchasing or leasing a laser for cosmetic procedures or get into the botox biz, because he compensation is just so darn good.  While our traditional medical practice that treats silly things like heart disease, diabetes, and depression barely scrapes by sometimes, we could make a fairly good living if we offered unwanted hair removal and took away crow’s feet from around the eyes.  Where are our priorities in health care that this is possible?

So on that drive home when Maddow begins again her song and dance on all of the complements she’s received since she started using her miracle anti-aging cream, I know that it’s time to flip the station back over to NPR for the night.

The Country Doc