Anyone with more than 100 moles should be regularly checking them for changes and going to see your doctor if you think they have.

The big problem is if you have more than 100 moles how are you going to remember each one individually and what its like.

For this reason you should record the condition of your moles now, using the standard ABCDE formula of Asymmetry- that’s whether the two sides match, Border – is the border irregular in shape, Colour – does the mole have more than one shade to it and Diameter – is it bigger than the end of a pencil – about 6mm.

The question is now how are you going to do this for that number of moles. One way is to chart them on a drawing which you write comments on.

By far the best way is to photograph them or have them photographed by a professional medical photographer.

Taking off your clothes and having your moles photographed may be a daunting thought, but this simple process could save your life.

For medical photographers it will have a special place in history, offering a confidential and consistent slide processing service, available to all by using the equally iconic, yellow envelope and the memorable address of PO Box 14, Hemel Hempstead, Herts.

Kodachrome itself offered so much, using its highly complex colour coupled emulsion and the similarly complicated process it produced a grain less image which was once regarded as the closest to natural skin tones for clinical work.

With the films being generally returned ready mounted in the famous yellow plastic box, many medical trainees will have spent hours matching the printed frame numbers with the shooting log and then often having to demount the card frame and remount in plastic to prevent them jamming in the Kodak Carousel projector.

As someone who started using Kodachrome in the mid 1960’s I still fondly remember its idiosyncrasies and feel privileged to have been invited to visit the processing lab when it reopened in Wimbledon around 1996.

Together with many who have made that transition to digital media there has to be a pang of regret that we will never see the yellow box, slip through the letter box again.

Kodachrome RIP

Your lawyer or solicitor will tell you that being able to demonstrate the extent of your injuries will have a significant impact on the amount of damages awarded by a court.

One way in which you can help show your injuries is to have them photographed by a professional medical photographer, as soon after the incident as possible and again once the scars have healed.

A medical photographer not only has the skills to record and show your injuries to the highest standards, they also have sensitivity skills to put clients at ease and help them through what can be a daunting experience.

Without good photographs the client may have to reveal scars in person to legal personnel and the court, with accredited pictures this should not be necessary since the medical photographer is an independent witness who can verify their authenticity.

To be injured in any road crash is bad but when someone has deliberately contributed to your suffering by getting behind the wheel of a vehicle when they were drunk this is totally unacceptable.

Medical Photographic Services by Mike Samuels RMIP, MIMI.

The Institute of Medical Illustrators who govern Medical Photographers have been expressing concerns over unrestricted use of cameras and other recording devices in hospitals for many years.

Although it is 3 years since this particular event, unauthorised cameras and even worse mobile phones are still being taken into restricted areas, such as operating theatres.

Patients under anaesthetic are at their most vulnerable, they rely on trust that they will be treated with dignity and privacy during this time.

It should be remembered that nobody has the right to take photographs that could include anything that may identify a patient; this can be something as simple as a birthmark or tattoo, without their explicit consent.

Medical photographers are trained to ensure that pictures are only taken and released for use once the patient has been fully consented.

Sadly there are a number of healthcare professionals who consider it their right to take photographs wherever and of whoever they feel fit and use them at will, under the misconception that they own the copyright of any pictures they take.

In reality any photographs of a patient taken in an NHS hospital or clinic, immediately become the property and copyright of the NHS trust and are protected under the Data Protection Act, regardless of who owns the camera.

The apparent laxity of control of cameras in this type of instance can only damage the professional integrity of those who are entrusted to take photographs of extremely sensitive and often intimate areas, the Medical Photographer.

It is the duty of everyone concerned with patient care to ensure that cameras in hospitals are only used appropriately, and that patient privacy and dignity are not compromised.

For information on Medical Photography Services

You probably wouldn’t worry if your doctor wanted to photograph a mole on your hand to monitor changes in case it became cancerous.

But how would you feel, as a woman, if the mole was on your breast or, as a man, on your genitals, who would you want to take these pictures?

If you were in a hospital environment you probably wouldn’t question being asked to attend the medical photography department or if your consultant wanted to take pictures himself, although he should have explained fully, why he was taking them and what they were to be used for as well as asking you to sign a consent form.

If however, the photographer was someone else would you agree to it?

Hopefully not, but it is not unknown for junior doctors, medical students or even non clinical staff to take photographs so how would you feel about that?

In the most extreme case I heard of someone being sent to the local wedding photographer to have medical shots taken.

Having photographs of intimate areas of your body is not what you expect and can cause anxiety and humiliation for many patients as well as resulting in unforeseen reactions from partners and relatives.

For this reason alone it is always preferable to use a professional, registered medical photographer, who has vast experience in reassuring patients treating them with dignity and understanding and who can reassure them that any pictures taken will be treated in a confidential manner.

Registered medical photographers not only provide the best images, they also ensure your confidentiality, privacy and dignity.

The patient who needs to monitor their moles because they have atypical mole syndrome or diagnosed with malignant melanoma will be grateful for a simple method of recording change in their condition.

Have you been the victim of violent assault who needs evidential pictures taken shortly after the incident, to enable the prosecution of the perpetrator?

Maybe you’ve been involved in an accident and you’re looking to claim damages for injuries sustained, then the pictures taken by a medical photographer could be influential in how the court views injuries.

More simply, you may want the reassurance of photographs taken before you have cosmetic or plastic surgery, either to assist the surgeon with his work or so you can see improvement or not as the case may be.

A visit to a photographic studio may not be the first thought that comes to mind when you’re referred to hospital, but with an increasing number of plastic and cosmetic surgery procedures you may well find yourself in the care of a medical photographer.

Photography has become an essential part of a surgeon’s work with many plastic surgeons refusing to operate without photographs being taken before the operation.

In most large NHS hospitals this will mean a referral to the medical photography unit where a qualified clinical photographer will take the requested pictures in a sensitive way and attempt to provide a dignified and private experience.

These pictures will only be taken once the patient has been given a full explanation of why the pictures are necessary, how they will be stored and when they have signed a consent form

Having photographs taken of what, after all, is something you have been anxious or sensitive enough to consult your doctor about, can be major ordeal.

Whether the changes are to visible features such as noses or ears, or for those more delicate areas like breasts and abdomen, the idea of having to undress and have these areas immortalized as a photographic record can be a considerable ordeal.

If your surgery is being performed at an NHS hospital without a medical photographer,you may not have the benefit of a professional medical photographer; this probably means your doctor will take the pictures on his own camera  or he will get one of his staff to take them.

Should that be the situation you need to remember that any pictures taken within an NHS environment of a patient, immediately becomes a medical record and the copyright property of the NHS Trust you’re in. This means that nobody can use those pictures for any purpose other than as a medical record for your treatment. Unless you have given specific permission for it to be used in teaching or research.  Above all these pictures cannot be published in any way including the internet without your written explicit agreement.

Many plastic and cosmetic procedures are not covered by the NHS and you will be in the care of a private consultant. They too will want pictures but unless they have access to a private medical photographic service, the chances are you will be photographed by the surgeon or anyone else on his team. Anecdotally, this can be the clinic nurse to the receptionist who has, “an interest in photography”, unfortunately, you may not have any control over the use of these pictures either.

The other important point is that if photographs are taken outside the NHS you have no right of access to them, so if something goes wrong with your surgery and you want to use the pictures as reference, it could require a court order for you to see them and of course they haven’t been taken by an independent photographer.

Finally, it’s worth remembering that things do go wrong even with the simpler non surgical procedures, like cosmetic fillers and Botox injections.

In all these situations a picture is worth at least 1000 words to a lawyer so always get yourself photographed before and after a cosmetic operation.