Aesthetic Medicine 101: Introduction to Aesthetic Microbiology

This is part of our Aesthetics 101 series.

aesthetic medicine course

Human Microbiology for Aesthetics
This is an important topic for the public to understand. If you are educated from the science stream or a life science background, you might understand what microbiology is all about. If you are not from the science stream, no worries. This is the internet era. It's not too late to learn.
Microbiology refers to the study of organisms that are too tiny to be seen by the naked eye. Medical microbiology thus refers to the study of these organisms in relation to humans. 
Once upon a time, before the microscope was invented, mankind was not able to see or to understand the existence of these organisms. With the invention of the microscope, the eye was able to sight the innumerable microorganisms and thus man was able to study them.

A microbiologist (a graduate with a degree in microbiology) is one who specializes in microbiological science. A medical doctor usually consults the microbiologist in making treatment-related decisions when there is a suspected infection.
Therefore, a clinical microbiologist has two roles:
  1. Identify the microorganism responsible for the patient's infection.
  2. Recommend the appropriate anti-microbial agents to alleviate the infection.

Why is it important in Skin-Care?

Infection is a common skin-care related problem due to the invasion by microorganisms e.g. acne or pimples. In order to treat infections effectively, the knowledge of medical microbiology is important.
A professional will need to differentiate whether a skin related problem is related to infection or not. The reason why it's important to know the cause of a skin-related problem (e.g. skin redness) before you jump into buying products that might not work.

Do you know the difference between a bacteria and a virus? Both are very small but the virus is even smaller. You can see a bacteria with a microscope but you may need a electron-microscope (expensive equipment) to see a virus.

Antibiotics are meant to kill bacteria and not virus. So, if you happen to have a mild cold without fever or sore-throat; the cause is normally due to some virus. So, will taking antibiotics help? Of course not. We need antibiotics to kill bacteria and we need anti-viral to kill virus. Point taken?

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