Colette Aumont had been prescribed a treatment she was frightened of by a clinician who had ten minutes and used them on the diagnosis.
The psychological load of a visible condition is asked about routinely at every appointment, because it does not correlate with severity and is otherwise never mentioned.
Flare plans are written down with thresholds, so treatment starts on day one of a flare rather than on day nine when it has become unbearable.
Under-treatment from fear is far more common here than over-treatment. The fear is nearly always secondhand.
Illustrative composite
Under-treatment driven by fear of a treatment is more common in this clinic than over-treatment, and the fear is usually acquired from well-meaning advice.
“I used it properly for the first time in year three,” she says. “It worked in nine days.”
