The importance of biopsies in rash cases

Nature Pure Life, LLC is the world leader in all natural rash specific formulas. That means we deal with rashes. Most of you are familiar with eczema and psoriasis, but unless you have lichen planus or pityriasis rosea you probably do not know about them. We do. We have dealt with tens of thousands of people who actually have rashes over the past decade. We administrate several large Facebook groups specifically for people with these rashes.

What we have learned is appalling to us, and, hopefully to you too. Most people who go to a doctor with a rash are diagnosed “visually”- the doctor takes a look and days, “you have X”/Then prescribes steroids and the patient goes home thinking the rash will go away with the wonderful medicine the doctor prescribed. 

Both LP and PR are considered “rare” rashes by NORD- the national Organization for Rare Diseases. We are based in the United States, but we have customers from all over the world, as well as international members in our Facebook groups. Since we have access to thousands of voices, we ask questions. Simple questions, we thought, like: When were you first diagnosed? We were shocked to find out that many people with “lifetime” diseases were misdiagnosed, sometimes for years. We started noticing that about one of every three people with a rash were misdiagnosed by their doctors. That means a 66% accuracy rate. When I was in school, that was a failing grade. 

On the other hand, a biopsy is 99% accurate. For most rashes only a “scrape” biopsy is necessary- a scalpel is gently tun across the top of a rash lesion to collect the sample. Takes maybe 5 minutes, complete with preparation. 
Patients pay doctors. Doctors do not pay patients. Whether you pay cash, you pay insurance, or you pay taxes for a national health plan, the bottom line is patient pays. So, with a failing grade of accurately diagnosing rashes, why don't doctors do more biopsies? That we cannot answer, but we are trying to educate the paying public to ask for a biopsy. A doctor would certainly get an x-ray done if they suspected a broken bone, so why not a biopsy for a rash?

Please watch for more insights we have made over the years!