Book reviews

II

Clear skin: A step by step program to stop

pimples, blackheads, acne
Kenneth L. Flandermeyer, M.D., Boston, 1979,
Little, Brown & Co. 211 pages. $8.95.
The idea that patients can be their own doctors,
even their own dermatologists at least sometimes,
is a great idea, whose time has arrived. Radio,
television, and popular magazines all preach the
worth of doing for yourself and the importance of
learning to do it properly. It was inevitable that a
century of successful public education illuminating every phase of science and medicine would
eventuate into a consumerist demand to learn more
about practical doctoring at home. Now physicians should honestly encourage and assist this
consumerist trend to assure the best results for
their patients.
Flandermeyer's book has true enthusiasm,
sometimes is amusingly exuberant, and uses a
mood and language appropriate for the teenager,
combined with extremely well-considered, lengthy
(over 200 pages), detailed instructions concerning
his familiar method for the treatment of ache. His
method simply is to dry and peel the skin gradually but very thoroughly, using safe and inexpensive over-the-counter medications. He does not
use drugs, physical or mental exercise, cucumber
facial packs, sunlamps, herbs, laxatives, vitamins,
other diets, or any other odd or unlikely process.
His explanations are explicit, entirely demystified,
and should be easy for anyone to follow safely.
Because Clear Skin is so elaborately specialized
and explicit, this is the best-conceived consumerist book by a dermatologist of which I am
aware, and it would be an excellent addition to
every high school library.
Efficacy is a principal concern of the author,
and skeptical dermatologists may consult "Appendix A, to the Physician." However, all experts
do agree that peeling is the best treatment for most
acne, especially milder cases, and usually even
severe forms will benefit notably. Some other
readers may not appreciate consumerism, or (to
say it better) might not wish either the doctor or
the patient to be neglected as a result of the advice

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given in this book. Flandermeyer, a full-time private practitioner himself, carefully cites the importance of consulting the dermatologist early and
often if certain problems or poor results eventuate.
More consumelist books are needed, hopefully,
all as enthusiastic, as obviously sincere, but yet as
careful and medically conservative as Clear Skin.

Philip C. Anderson, M.D.

Columbia, 340

Botanical dermatology: Plants and plant

products injurious to the human skin
John Mitchell, M.D., and Arthur R o o k , M . A . ,
M.D., Philadelphia, 1979, Lea & Febiger. 787
pages. $39.50.
The most common cause of job-related illnesses
on the west coast of the United States is poison
oak dermatitis. Not so long ago, primula allergic
contact dermatitis was one of the m o s t frequent
causes of contact dermatitis in Britain and in
Europe. And yet, in 1961, Rook, in a review of
plant contact dermatitis, noted that the precise
chemical sensitizers were known for only three
plants: poison ivy, celery, and lemon.
At last, and for the first time, we n o w have in
Botanical Dermatology a scholarly and vast work
which analyzes reports of skin injuries by 248
families of plants comprising some 1,400 genera
and thousands of species.
Mitchell, who has spent much of his professional life studying plant-related dermatitis, estimates that he spent some 20 to 30 hours a week for
8 years compiling this encyclopedic v o l u m e . He
and Arthur Rook have collected virtually all that is
known about plants and the skin. Every entry is
extensively authenticated. The k n o w l e d g e of Niels
Hjorth, Alexander Fisher, Veikko Piril~i, and
Bjorn Hausen has also been incorporated in useful
contributions.
The body of the text is devoted to an alphabetical listing of plant families and genera by their
botanical names. Skin injuries by these plants are
described, together with the specifics of their
chemical sensitizers, if known. Historical and
clinical details are fully amplified. If you want to