T
ET
Facial Skin Lesions
By Isabel Lavers
Optometrists and Dispensing Opticians see lots
of patients every week. When performing an
eye examination, the Opticians Act requires that
optometrists ‘examine the eye and its surroundings’
for abnormality or disease. Dispensing, fitting
and adjusting spectacles also provides a good
opportunity to spot unusual lesions on the skin
around the eyes, face and ears. As clinicians
dealing with the public and, in particular, an elderly
population you are likely to see facial skin lesions
regularly. Knowing which lesions need to be referred,
which can be dealt with cosmetically and which are
best left alone can be of great benefit to you and
the patient.
In this article, we describe the most common skin
lesions you are likely to come across and explain
how to manage them. We’ve also pulled together a
library of images of the skin lesions online. Just visit
CETpoints.com/cet, look up this article online and
follow the links to the images from there.
12 etCETera | April 2017
STANDARDS
OF PRACTICE
STANDARDS
OF PRACTICE