Cookies are small bits of data we store on the device (computer, mobile phone, tablet or any other mobile device) that you use to access any of the websites (the Sites), so we can recognize repeat users. Each cookie expires after a certain period of time depending on what we use it for. Like most commercial websites we use cookies on web pages. We use cookies for several reasons. Below we list and describe the various types of cookies we use on our site.
By using websites, you expressly consent to the use of cookies as described on this page as well as in our PRIVACY POLICY. Please see below for details on each of the types of cookies we use.
Below we list the different types of cookies that may be used on the Sites. We have updated this policy to include a detailed list of cookies used on each of our Sites, that include information about type of cookie, expiry periods, and links to third party sites where applicable.
The Sites use both 1st party cookies (which are set by the Sites being visited) and 3rd party cookies (which are set by a server located outside the domain of our Sites).
Certain cookies are necessary for the Sites to operate correctly. For example, we use cookies to authenticate you. When you log on to our websites, authentication cookies are set which let us know who you are during a browsing session. These are set automatically.
These cookies are used to enable certain additional functions on our websites, such as storing your preferences (e.g. username and language selection) and preventing users from taking the same form multiple times. These functions improve user experience.
Preference cookies collect information about your choices and preferences and allow us to remember language or other local settings to customize the Sites accordingly.
Social media cookies collect information about social media usage to target relevant ads to users.
Analytic cookies collect information about your use of the sites that enable us to improve the way it works. For example, analytics cookies show us which are the most frequently visited pages on the Sites, help us record any difficulties you have with the Sites, and show us whether our advertising is effective or not. This allows us to see the overall patterns of usage on the Sites, rather than the usage of a single person. We use the information to analyze the Sites’ traffic.
We may use cookies to market services to you on third-party websites. For example, if you visit our website, you may then see an advertisement for services on certain third party websites you visit in the future. Information about this is described under the paragraph in our Privacy Policy which is entitled “We may disclose the presence of a cookie to advertise our services.”
We sometimes use cookies delivered by third parties to track the performance of our advertisements. For example, these cookies remember which browsers were used to visit our websites. The information provided to third parties does not include personal information, but this information may be re-associated with personal information after we receive it. This process helps us manage and track the effectiveness of our marketing efforts.
We also contract with third-party advertising networks that may collect IP addresses and other information from web beacons on our websites, emails, and on third-party websites. Ad networks follow your online activities over time by collecting website navigational information through automated means, using cookies. They use this information to provide advertisements about products and services that may be of interest to you. You may see these advertisements on other websites. This process also helps us manage and track the effectiveness of our marketing efforts.
If you’d like to remove or disable cookies via your browser, you certainly can.
We provide you with a choice on the use of cookies as described in this policy. Please note that our websites may not work correctly if you change certain preferences, such as disabling all cookies.
Please also note that after applying these settings, you will continue to receive advertising, although it may not be tailored to your preferred interests using information collected from cookies and similar technologies on your device.
First Party Cookies. If you’d rather we didn’t use cookies when you visit us, click here for information on how to configure your browser settings to reject cookies. Please note, disabling these types of cookies won’t turn off advertising on our websites and the advertising you see may be less relevant to you.
Third Party Cookies. If you would like to opt-out of third-party cookies, here are some options:
Browser-level cookie controls
Most browsers allow you to manage cookie settings. These settings can usually be found in the ‘Settings’, ‘Options’ or ‘Preferences’ menu of your browser. The links below are provided to help you find the settings for some common browsers.
| Name | Category | Expiry | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| language | Functional | 1 Day | Used by Sites to track visitors’ language |
| PHPSESSID | Functional | Session | Preserves user session state across page requests |
| wp-settings* | Functional | 1 year | WordPress sites use to store site related settings |
| ci_session | Functional | 1 Day | Used by Sites to clear session once user leaves the browser |
| currency | Functional/E-Commerce Sites | 1 Day | Used by Sites to track visitor’s currency |
| chat-window | Offhour Patients/Functional | 1 Day | Used by Offhour Patients ChatBot to remember chat window minimized, maximized status |
| TawkConnectionTime | Tawk ChatBot/Functional | 1 Day | Used by Tawk ChatBot to track successful connection |
| viewedOuibounceModal, hp_popup, hidepopup | Functional | 1 Day | Used to remember popup is activated for user |
| spu_*, spruceup_*, effects_* | Spruceup/Functional | 1 Day | Used to remember effects activation and user interaction with the effects |
| Name | Category | Expiry | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| __utma | Google/Analytics | 2 years | Used to distinguish users and sessions |
| ACCOUNT_CHOOSER, LSOLH, LSID, GAPS | Google Accounts/Functional | 2 years | Used by Google to store account related data |
| OTZ | Google Apis/Functional | 2 years | Used by Google for functional data |
| __utmb | Google/Analytics | 30 minutes | Used to determine new sessions and visits |
| __utmc | Google/Analytics | session | Used for Google Analytics |
| __utmt | Google/Analytics | 10 minutes | Used to throttle request rates |
| __utmz | Google/Analytics | 6 months | Stores the traffic source for campaign that explains how the user reached your site |
| __utmv | Google/Analytics | 2 years | Used to store custom variables per visit. Updated whenever new data is sent to Google Analytics. |
| __utmz | Google/Analytics | 6 Months | Used to keep track of the traffic source or campaign, revealing some information on how the user reached the website. Updated whenever new data is sent to Google Analytics. |
| SSID | Google/Functional | Session | Set by Google components – such as the GDrive folder picker or ReCaptcha. They appear to identify the user’s Google account. They are required for these components to function properly. |
| _ga | Google/Analytics | 2 years | Registers a unique ID that is used to generate statistical data |
| _gid | Google/Analytics | 1 Day | Google Analytics Registers a unique ID that is used to generate statistical data |
| _dc_gtm_UA-XX | Google/Analytics | Session | Google Analytics Used by Google Tag Manager to control the loading of a page |
| __atssc | Google/Analytics | 2 years | Used to manage the share count, until the sharing cache is updated. |
| __atssc | AddThis/Functional | 2 years | Used to manage the share count, until the sharing cache is updated. |
| __atuvc | AddThis/Functional | 2 years | Used to show you an updated share count for an article, if you yourself share it and return to page later, but before the sharing cache was updated. No info from this cookie is sent back to AddThis. It is created and used only by the client. |
| __atuvs | AddThis/Functional | 30 mins | Used to show you an updated share count for an article, if you yourself share it and return to page later, but before the sharing cache was updated. No info from this cookie is sent back to AddThis. It is created and used only by the client. |
| di | AddThis/Functional | 2 years | Used to keep track of the expiration time of other cookies. |
| di2 | AddThis/Functional | 2 years | Used to keep track of the expiration time of other cookies. |
| dt | AddThis/Functional | 1 month | Used to keep track of the expiration time of other cookies. |
| loc | AddThis/Functional | 2 years | Used to help publishers understand approximately where in the world their content is being shared. (Geolocation.) |
| ssc | AddThis/Functional | 2 years | Used to register shares and social activity. |
| psc | AddThis/Functional | 2 years | Used to register shares and social activity. |
| uid | AddThis/Functional | 2 years | Used to differentiate between users. |
| um | AddThis/Functional | 2 years | Used to register shares and social activity. |
| DSID, IDE, FLC, AID, TAID, __ar_v4, exchange_uid | Double Click by Google/Analytics | 2 years | Used by Google Advertising services to store user unique IDs and advertising related data. |
| MUID, MUIDB,_uet_sid, _uetsid | Bing/Analytics | 2 years | Used by Bing to store analytics related data. |
| sb, xs, spin, wd, act, tr, presence | Facebook/Analytics | Session | Used by Facebook to store analytics and tracking related data. |
| fr | Facebook/Analytics | 3 month | Used by Facebook to store Encrypted Facebook ID and Browser ID. |
| c_user | Facebook/Analytics | 1 months | Used by Facebook to store Facebook ID. |
| datrr | Facebook/Analytics | 2 years | Used by Facebook to store Browser ID. |
| ct0 | Twitter/Analytics | Continuously | This cookie is set due to Twitter integration and sharing capabilities for the social media. |
| dnt | Twitter/Analytics | Never | This cookie is set due to Twitter integration and sharing capabilities for the social media. |
| eu_cn | Twitter/Analytics | 1 Year | This cookie is set due to Twitter integration and sharing capabilities for the social media. |
| external_reference | Twitter/Analytics | 7 Days | This cookie is set due to Twitter integration and sharing capabilities for the social media. |
| guest_id | Twitter/Analytics | 2 Years | This cookie is set due to Twitter integration and sharing capabilities for the social media. |
| kdt | Twitter/Analytics | 2 Years | This cookie is set due to Twitter integration and sharing capabilities for the social media. |
| lang | Twitter/Analytics | Session | This cookie is set due to Twitter integration and sharing capabilities for the social media. |
| personalization_id | Twitter/Analytics | 2 Years | This cookie is set due to Twitter integration and sharing capabilities for the social media. |
| remember_check_on | Twitter/Analytics | Never | This cookie is set due to Twitter integration and sharing capabilities for the social media. |
| tfw_exp | Twitter/Analytics | 14 Days | This cookie is set due to Twitter integration and sharing capabilities for the social media. |
| VUID | Vimeo/Functional | 2 years | This cookie is set to store video player settings. |
| nextid, requests | Youtube/Functional | 2 years | This cookie is set by YouTube to store video playback and playlist information. |
| GPS | Youtube/Functional | Session | Registers a unique ID on mobile devices to enable tracking based on geographical GPS location. |
| PREF | Youtube/Functional | 8 months | Registers a unique ID that is used by Google to keep statistics of how the visitor uses YouTube videos across different websites. |
| VISITOR_INFO1_LIVE | Youtube/Functional | 179 months | Tries to estimate the users’ bandwidth on pages with integrated YouTube videos. |
| YSC | Youtube/Functional | Session | Registers a unique ID to keep statistics of what videos from YouTube the user has seen. |
| lidc | Linkedin/Functional | 1 Day | This cookie is set to store LinkedIn share buttons and ad tag settings. |
| ep201, ep202 | Wufoo/Functional | 30 mins | This cookie is set to store Wufoo form settings. |
| _drip_client_* | Drip/Analytics | 2 years | This cookie is set by Drip Analytics to track user inputs. |
Dr. Vikram "Vic" Khanna, M.D., is a board-certified dermatologist with over 20 years of expertise in dermatology. Educated at Northwestern University and trained at Feinberg School of Medicine and Case Western Reserve University, where he served as Chief Resident, Dr. Khanna combines extensive knowledge with practical skills. He is also board-certified in Mohs micrographic surgery, specializing in skin cancer treatments. Dr. Khanna's authoritative role as a Clinical Instructor at Northwestern University and his dedication to ongoing education underscore his commitment to advancing dermatological care. Known for his compassionate approach, he is trusted by patients and peers alike. Connect with Dr. Vikram Khanna on Linkedin
Dr. Lauren Boshnick is a skilled dermatologist specializing in skin cancer, acne, psoriasis, and cosmetic dermatology. With an honors degree in Biology from the University of Western Ontario and a medical degree from the American University of the Caribbean, where she graduated salutatorian, Dr. Boshnick has achieved exemplary United States Medical Examination scores and received advanced training at prestigious institutions like Mayo Clinic and Oxford. Her dermatology residency at Florida State University, where she was chief resident, further solidified her expertise. Active in the AAD and dedicated to advancing skin care, Dr. Boshnick brings her extensive experience and passion for dermatology to the Northwest Suburbs community. Connect with Dr. Lauren Boshnick on Linkedin
Dr. David Othman is a board-certified dermatologist and micrographic dermatologic surgeon with over a decade of experience in medical, surgical, and cosmetic dermatology. He holds a B.S. in Microbiology and an M.H.S.A. from the University of Michigan, as well as an M.D. from Northeast Ohio Medical University, where he received the Award for Excellence in Dermatology. Dr. Othman completed his dermatology training at Indiana University, serving as Chief Resident. He is a diplomate of the American Board of Dermatology and a fellow of the American Society of Dermatologic Surgery. Known for his commitment to patient care and trust, Dr. Othman actively contributes to the field through teaching and research.
