Health & Medicine

Taking Selfies May Help Improve Skin

Kathleen Lees
First Posted: Oct 29, 2014 01:47 AM EDT

Findings published in the journal JAMA Dermatology show that taking selfies can help some individuals overcome skin problems.

For the study, researchers conducted a study in 156 patients, 78 of whom visited dermatologists while 78 who received services online after sending themselves selfies. They then measured the differences in the skin condition following one year.

"Between baseline and 12 months, the average difference in score in patients in the online group was -5.1 and -4.86 in the in-person follow-up group. The percentage of patients achieving clearance or near clearance of their atopic dermatitis was 38.4 percent in the online group and 43.6 percent in the in-person group," the researchers wrote about the results, via a news release. 

Findings revealed that the treatment availed online was comparable to that seen via doctors visits, showing that other treatments could be main stay in the future.

"Health services delivery in dermatology is an exciting and evolving field," added lead study author April W. Amrstrong. "With the changing health care environment and a growing demand for dermatologic services, technology-enabled health care delivery models have the potential to increase access and improve outcomes. As with any novel health services delivery models, comparative effectiveness studies investigating health outcomes are critical to evaluate these new models in an evidence-based approach."

See Now: NASA's Juno Spacecraft's Rendezvous With Jupiter's Mammoth Cyclone

More on SCIENCEwr