Each year on Valentine’s Day, countless men and women busy themselves with placing restaurant reservations, making phone calls to their local florists, and taking trips to the store to purchase cards, chocolates, and love totems for their significant others. So much attention is placed on food, flowers, and other temporary gifts, but this year, Vanguard wants to challenge our patients to place their efforts in a gift with much longer staying power and much higher stakes: the gift of a full-body skin exam.

While it might not be the immediate choice when considering a romantic gesture for your loved one, a skin exam is a perfect way to show them that you value their health above everything else.

Prevent Skin Cancer with an At-Home Couples Exam

One way to incorporate skin exams into your Valentine’s Day celebration is by performing a couple’s exam in the privacy of your own home.

Discovering suspicious spots on our own bodies can be tricky. We often become blinded by minute changes in our skin, and many times a changing or newly formed mole can easily go overlooked. Having a trusted loved one examine our bodies, on the other hand, can aid in identifying problematic moles.

One way to keep track of moles and determine whether or not they’re changing over time (which can be a sign of skin cancer) is to take photos on a regular basis. Comparing photos from the month to month can aid in self-discovery and provide an invaluable tool for your dermatologist in cases of further examination.

Visit the Dermatologist for an In-Office Skin Exam

While at-home screenings are a great entry into annual, full-body skin exams, it is always best to trust the expertise of a dermatologist, especially when a suspicious-looking mole is in question. The dermatology team at Vanguard always recommends that our patients undergo yearly full-body skin exams to ensure their skin remains free of potentially life-threatening skin cancers.

For couples, it’s a great idea to schedule individual exams on the same day, if possible. This can help make an otherwise tedious procedure an experience that can be shared, and it’s never a bad idea to have someone along for moral support if you are feeling at all anxious about your exam.

Happy Valentine’s Day from Vanguard!

While we don’t recommend forgoing your usual Valentine’s Day plans, this year consider adding a skin exam to your list of gifts for the special person in your life.

To schedule a skin exam, call 719-355-1585 or fill out our simple online appointment request form.