Tips on Adding a Question

New to RealSelf and have a question you want to ask a doctor about a cosmetic procedure or treatment? We have thousands of board-certified doctors and specialists from around the world at your fingertips.

Here are some helpful tips to get you started on crafting the perfect question so doctors are more likely to respond:

1. Ask a complete question. When you post a question to the Doctor Q&A, you want to include as much detail as possible. While we may have a 128-character limit for question titles, you can add up to 500 characters in the box labeled “Details” so don’t be afraid to use this to clearly state your question and be as descriptive as possible. Doctors will be more likely to answer a complete question instead of one that lacks information.

2. Add photos. We say this a lot, but a picture really is worth a thousand words. When you ask a question on the site, doctors are more likely to respond if they can see photos of the areas you’re referencing, especially if it’s a skin problem. We understand if you’re on the fence about sharing photos but please know that you can always crop your photos or disguise them before you submit your question. You can also have photos removed from your question at any point by contacting our Community Support Team.

3. Questions related to a recent treatment or procedure are better suited for your provider. We understand that you might have concerns about your results or how you're healing, but questions related to post-op complications or concerns are no longer being published. This is specifically because we found that those questions were not being answered in the amount of time required to address our community members' concerns, and providers refer our members back to their surgeon or treatment provider.

In these instances, we recommend that you seek the advice of the physician who performed your procedure by contacting their office. Here are a few examples of questions that can’t be published:

• I had filler injected 2 weeks ago and my face and chin feel like they’re on fire. What’s happening?
• What’s causing my nose to bleed 5 weeks after surgery?
• I noticed an oozing liquid from my incisions on my bandages today when I changed them. Is this normal?
• I’m 3 days post breast augmentation. How are my implants healing?

4. Follow-up questions with new details are fine. If you have a follow-up to a previous question you’ve asked on the site, you’re more than welcome to submit a new question to the Doctor Q&A. Just be sure the question isn’t the exact same question and mention that it’s is a follow-up to one you’ve previously asked.

Once submitted, questions undergo a short moderation process and may take up to two business days to appear on RealSelf. If you’re wondering about the status of a question, feel free to email our Community Support Team.