Vietnam Derm Project
First, I want to thank those who took the time to offer their support and assistance to Jessica’s mom in my previous post.
Ok, so I have no idea why it didn’t dawn on me sooner to solicit pictures of common skin diseases from my readers, seeing as many of you have Vietnamese children or are Vietnamese. A few AWESOME people have emailed me and left me comments asking if it’d be helpful to pass along pictures of their kids’ ___ skin condition. YES! HUGELY helpful. So that you know how these pictures will be used, I’ll give you the run-down of the project I’m working on…
I am working with the dermatology department out here and collaborating with the dermatology department in Hue, Vietnam. Travis and I conceived (minds out of the gutter people) this project a LONG time ago, when we saw how prevalent certain skin diseases are in the orphanages of Vietnam, and how mis/undertreated they are. Things like scabies, impetigo, eczema, staph infections, viral rashes, etc. Sadly, there’s a huge lack of awareness regarding dermatologic conditions in Vientam - to be fair, we get really crappy educations on skin diseases here in US medical schools as well. Either way, it trickles down to orphanage care and most skin stuff just goes totally untreated, which makes for a pretty depressing quality of life. I CANNOT imagine itching or having permanently cracked, dry skin, etc. without relief ON TOP of living in an orphanage.
Trav and I thought it’d be a really useful thing to have a very basic guide, with pictures and realistic treatment modalities, for the 20 most common skin conditions, in every orphanage. This would allow the caregivers to consult pictures and simple descriptions in a manual to help them recognize the most common skin diseases and treat them appropriately. I found a dermatologist mentor, who has been wonderful, here in CO, and solicited the help of another US-trained doctor I had VERY coincident indirect contact with while we were in Vientam. Do you remember that little girl with severe hydrocephalus I met in the Hoi An Orpahange? After meeting her, I emailed the Hoi An Foundation to see if I could help raise the funds needed to get her a brain shunt and a very compassionate physician responded to me. Turns out, he founded the Hoi An Foundation, is faculty at Travis’ medical school, AND is currently living in Central Vietnam so that he can help educate countryside docs on certain public health and disease topics. WOW, talk about crazy coincidences (or something more if you don’t believe in coincidences).
So, that doctor has put me in touch with the appropriate departments at the medical school in Hue. I will be collaborating with the physicians there, setting up a teledermatology link so that consultations can occur when an unusual derm case presents itself. Additionally, I am writing a grant proposal in hopes of securing the necessary equipment to make the teledermatology consults sustainable in that digital pictures will be forwarded on to the derm dept. here, and stored for future use in the picture-based manual I am ultimately trying to create. Once I have photos of all the 20 most common skin diseases on Vietnamese skin, I will compile them into the manual. The manual will then be distributed to rural health care providers as well as orphanage caregivers.
That’s the plan anyway. I’m still in the grant writing phase of the project, but trying to collect as many pictures as I can along the way. If your child has anything that’s been conclusively diagnosed and you’d like to help this project, PLEASE email me. Here’s what I’m looking for from the photos:
- clarity, good lighting, crisp image
- relative size - if possible, take 1 picture of your finger pointing to a lesion to illustrate how big it is compared to a fingernail
- location - close-ups are great, but if possible, also take a zoomed out picture so we can see where on the body the lesions are
PS: If you’ve read this far, you deserve a heads-up…check back before the weekend for a surprise:)
POST UPDATE: oh crap guys, didn’t mean to lead you down that path! NO, I’m not pregnant. NO, we’re not adding anymore kids to the mix! I was trying to be coy, but I’ll just tell you - there’ll be another fun giveaway this weekend. Sorry for misleading you!
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18 comments
a surprise? please don’t leave me in suspense!
p.s. I don’t think all that was a coincidence, and this is an awesome project that could greatly benefit the babies and kids of Vietnam! I am so excited for you. I guess luckily for Amelia I don’t have any pictures to contribute, though.
Laurie, you amaze me. I think this is a great idea and you are the perfect person to take on such a project. I’m intrigued about your “surprise” though. You aren’t adding another kid, are you?
Wow, that sounds like an awesome project!!
I am surprised you don’t have enough on your plate.
I have a four month old and I don’t think I could find the time, but I guess you make the time if it is that important!!
Good luck!!
This sounds like a great project, and something that is very obviously needed in the orphanages in VN. Something like this would have made a world of difference in my son’s orphanage, although unfortunately, I don’t believe they would use the resources even if they were available. However, I’ve know that there are orphanages where the health and care of the children is indeed a priority, so this will no doubt be invaluable. I never remember to take photos of all of the funky skin issues when they arise, other than a few acro ones. I can send those along if they’d be helpful. Good luck with the grants!
Wow, this project sounds incredible and much needed too!
Ok, 3 kids AND writing a grant proposal for an overseas medical project … ummm, please tell us how you do it all???? Maybe that could be your next manual??
Laurie,
You are amazing. I can’t imagine having three kids and still finding the time to review products, keep a
facinating blog, and write grants in my spare time…. You are inspiring!!!!
Kuddos to you for putting this project together. It seems as though it is desperately needed! I hope you’ll get lots of great photos. Maybe post about this on the yahoo lists as well? Great job!
Sounds incredible, Laurie.
What a cool idea! Sad really that there’s such a need for it, but what a wonderful service to the children of Vietnam - and their incredible caretakers who would updoubtedly love to be able to provide relief. My youngest daughter, Reagan, is from the Ninh Thuan province and has been diagnosed with both moderate excema and Keratolysis Exfoliativa Congenita (Peeling Skin Syndrome). Are either of those one of the conditions you’re hoping to document? If so, let me know and I’ll try to get some good photos for you. momwholoveschrist@hotmail.com
Awesome post! Love your med school/med career life - more, more, please.
Did you ever make a decision about residency, etc.? Read a post sometime ago (and tons of responses), but have not been faithful lately. New job, sorry.
This is such a wonderful idea! Those children will be blessed by the work you are doing and I’m sure you will find many blessings in working on this project as well.
You amaze me on a daily basis Laurie! What a great thing you are doing! Good luck with the grant.
What an amazing idea! I don’t know if there is anything in this, but my feeling was that when we adopted our daughter in 2003 there was far less dermatitis on the kids in her orphanage in Vung Tau, than there was in 2006 when we adopted our son (also in Vung Tau).
You probably have lots of pictures of eczema, but if you need any pix of eczema (in various stages) on hands, elbows, or behind knees on a 2 year old, let me know. I could have gotten some awesome pix of cellulitis on the face of a one year old a year ago…Do you want anything like scarlet fever rash, or hand, foot, and mouth disease blisters (on a 2 year old and a 6 year old last month) if it should happen to crop up again (God forbid) , or the peeling aftermath (which is ongoing)?
Hey Laur - what are the 20 most common conditions? Dalton has a few derm conditions, I am sure I can get you good clean pictures. He always has bad KEC and sometimes has moderate eczema, like Laura’s daughter. What else are you looking for?
What a great thing to do. Our daughter just grew out of her really sensitive itchy scalp and chest- at age two. I just ran across an article for an ink test for scabies that can be done at home (at orphanage…?) or at the Dr’s office. Just incase you have not heard of it:
http://www.adoptmed.org/tips/ink-test-for-scabies.html
Hi Laurie
I think this is a wonderful project. I wonder if it would be helpful in other orphanages in other countries. Our daughter is from China and we are waiting for a referral via the waiting child program from China (we have requested a son), so one reason I like your blog is learning more about boys and the day to day fun that you describe. I am a nurse/nurse practitioner (currently teaching in an undergrad program) and I have started to think about ways that I can give back to my daughter’s country of birth in a health care related way. Take care and good luck with your project. Marida
Hi Laurie, I just saw this little girl a few weeks ago and it really broke my heart. I knew this condition was treatable and, sadly, I was told by a local Hoi An resident (who speaks good English and knows the management at this orphanage) that they keep this little girl there to help raise funds for the orphanage. Im not sure how true this comment was, however it is evident that families have tried to aid her in the past. Some orphanages have management that leaves a great deal to be desired. I also have read about the DR you mention. Its people like you and him that can perhaps make the lives of Vietnamese orphans a bit brighter.
I think your project idea sounds fantastic and wish you all of the luck and energy needed for it.
Take care,
Jana
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