And then, sometimes, we turn back to have another look – even though we know we won't like what we see.

That’s how I approach the work of Dr Sandra Lee.

That’s her official name, but if you’re prone to spend hours trawling through YouTube you might know her better as Dr Pimple Popper.

Dr Lee is a licenced dermatologist in California who has become a YouTube star by posting videos of her coaxing out pimples, blackheads, ingrown hairs and whatever else people grow under their skin and finally get around to getting removed.

In the videos, she shows a good bedside manner; the videos never feel like there’s an exploitative or gross-out motivation.

And yet, gross they are.

They show all sorts of ooze, gunk, or rock-hard stuff coming out of people’s skin. It’s pretty icky to watch.

And yet I can’t stop watching them – even though they will leave lasting mental images.

Given Dr Lee’s internet stardom, it was a no-brainer that she’d eventually get her own TV show – Dr Pimple Popper – which airs on Foxtel’s TLC next week.

In the one-off special Dr Lee treats four patients, each of whom have more serious problems than a bunch of blackheads in their back that they just can’t reach.

In one case, a woman has a large softball-sized lump underneath her left breast.

She’s gotten so good at hiding it that not even her boyfriend knew about it.

The good doctor is able to remove it and, once it comes out, it looks uncannily like raw chicken (which I’ll try not to think about the next time I eat chicken).

Another patient is a man with a football-sized lump on his back, which he covers up by draping a T-shirt over his shoulder.

The amount of stuff  Dr Lee gets out of that lump is shocking.

I had to wonder how the people had waited so long before doing anything. Maybe it’s got something to do with the terrible state of the US health care system.

At least Dr Lee was able to help – and you can see how much it changes the patients’ lives.