Klinikum

I have just returned from the ‘Klinikum im Friedrichshain’. It is a hospital run by ‘Vivantes’ not far from Landsberg Allee S-Bahn station. That company operates many other hospitals and health centres in and around Berlin. I arrived on time and did not have to wait long until my name was called. My doctor is a specialist in Dermatologie. On my last visit she ruled out the cause of my skin problems to be caused by my allergies.

This time she wanted to check if I had skin cancer. I had to have a full body check. I did as directed and the results came quickly. No evidence of skin cancer! Was I pleased to hear that. We talked about possible causes and she said it looked like a skin disease called ‘Rosacea’. It has 4 sub-types and the cause is unknown.

She said up to 10% of people are affected, usually between the ages of 30 to 50 and if so then it is usually linked to family history = you have inherited it. Signs are facial redness, dilated blood vessels on the facial skin, pustules and swelling. There is no known cause, as I said, but it can be triggered by anxiety, emotional stress, hot drinks, alcohol, spicy food and sun burn. She told me not to sunbathe or drink red wine for the rest of the summer. At least I can eat pork pies when I hit Brexitland! My next check-up is early January 2020.