Concept of disease-oops

Question
Hiya! I'm a first year university student and I'm doing a paper
that deals with the concept of disease. My question for you as a
dermatologist is do you have a concept of disease? Do you treat
certain conditions and dismiss others based on whether it is a
minor problem or not? Thanks~

-Jo

Answer
When I make a tentative diagnosis, it is based on the patient's history and physical signs.  The knowledge I have gained over the 25 years that I have been in practice along with the experience I have in treating cases influences my decision.  There is an old saying in medicine...."common things occur commonly."  So if you know the common diseases, you would think of them  first.  The other saying is that "if you hear hoofbeats, do not think of a Zebra first."  Some cases are very unusual, but they are infrequent. I always try and determine the severity of disease.  Is it mild, moderate, or severe?  Different treatments, if any, are based on that one question.