Persistent cradle cap | Pediatrics | 12-2010
Cradle cap or seborrheic dermatitis in infants is usually self-resolving after about one year. If it continues the differential includes tinea capitis or psoriasis. I usually prescribe an antifungal shampoo ...
When to test for food allergy | Allergy | 04-2010
Food allergy testing should be considered in any individual who presents with an immediate type reaction i.e. hives, swelling, wheezing, dyspnea, vomiting, diarrhea, hypotension after eating, particularly if there s ...
Starve stubborn dandruff | Dermatology | 12-2009
The appearance of dandruff in adolescents is a very common problem, which creates a social stigma for the affected individual. Current convention suggests that the overcolonization of a yeast organism ...
Two rashes for the price of one | Dermatology | 03-2009
An Id reaction is also known as a dermatid, or dermatitis-like reaction. Essentially, the patient develops a widespread form of dermatitis in sympathy with a localized, more aggressive dermatitis on ...
Getting tough with dandruff | Dermatology | 01-2009
Dandruff is a form of seborrheic dermatitis that involves the scalp. The high density of sebaceous glands on the scalp provides the perfect environment for Pityrosporum organisms. In addition, the ...
When to worry about eosinophilia | Allergy | 12-2008
Allergist response Peripheral eosinophilia often accompanies allergic rhinitis, asthma, eosinophilic esophagitis and atopic dermatitis. I usually accept values up to 3.0 x 109 L of blood normal being less than ...
Best Tx for cellulitis of the lower leg | Allergy | 11-2008
Chronic venous insufficiency due to valvular incompetence leads to a chain reaction of physiologic changes in the skin and upper dermis. Congestion of the superficial lymphatic system and fibrin cuffing ...
Krazy Glue for fissured fingers | Dermatology | 10-2008
Skin fissuring on the fingertips requires a two-pronged approach. The first is to replace the moisture lost, and the second is to repair the split. For the second, the use ...
Best Tx for cold sores | Dermatology | 09-2008
While many clinicians would take an expectant management approach, there are certain circumstances that may warrant treatment, e.g. altered immune status and frequent recurrences. Though antivirals come in both topical ...
Identifying a travel-related rash | Dermatology | 07-2008
Differential diagnoses for infantile eruptions typically fall within either infectious or reactive dermatitis conditions. Most nonpruritic eruptions in infants are various forms of viral exanthems. The baby appears otherwise well, ...
How to deal with swimmer's itch | Dermatology | 07-2008
Swimmer's itch is also known as duck itch or cercarial dermatitis. It's commonly found each summer in people who swim in freshwater lakes that warm up with the season or ...
Allergy to latex: how to confirm | Allergy | 01-2008
You'd have to carefully review the history to determine if the symptoms were consistent with an IgE-dependent reaction. Was exposure to latex followed within 2 hours by itching, urticaria, angioedema, ...
Atopic dermatitis in kids | Dermatology | 12-2007
Atopic dermatitis is very common in kids. It's challenging to treat, and presents a problem for the parents as well as for the doctor, partly because of the burden of ...
New treatment for warts in kids | Dermatology | 11-2007
The treatment of warts has mainly been divided into 2 major modalities destructive -- liquid nitrogen, podophyllin, surgery -- and immunologic. This second category uses a variety of agents to ...
Warning: vitamin D suspensions in peanut oil | Allergy | 07-2007
A full history is needed with the time course of exposures and the onset and duration of the rash. In general, hair dyes induce a type 4 contact allergic dermatitis ...
Poison ivy: best protocol | Dermatology | 05-2007
The rhus antigen is a most efficient allergen. It's capable of a very dramatic contact allergic dermatitis, either through contact with the plant resin, or by exposure to aerosolized particles ...
Pruritus in the elderly | Dermatology | 12-2006
Itching in the elderly is a common presentation, and finding the cause and a tolerable treatment can be distressing for both patient and physician. I find the best way to ...
Ichthyosis vulgaris: is baby at risk? | Dermatology | 09-2006
Ichthyosis vulgaris is an inheritable disorder of keratinization, where affected individuals have thickened scaly skin on the cheeks, trunk and extremities. The pattern is very similar to atopic dermatitis. The ...
Celiac disease: what reflects wheat allergy? | Gastroenterology | 07-2006
I presume that your patients are thinking of an allergic rash, or lack of it, or of a negative skin test to wheat. I agree -- there's no correlation, really. ...
An itch to contend with | Dermatology | 04-2006
This condition is common, though under-reported and under-recognized. Pruritus ani can be loosely lumped into two groups amp amp 151 an irritant dermatitis and other medical problems. The vast majority ...
Can pets transmit skin disease? | Dermatology | 04-2006
Your question could have two parts conditions that may be found on both humans and animals and infections that people can contract from their pets. For the first part, veterinary ...
What are the pros and cons of pimecrolimus? | Dermatology | 11-2005
One of the biggest problems facing patients with chronic atopic dermatitis is balancing the need for optimal control against the accumulated side effects. Topical steroids are very effective in controlling ...
Perianal itch: prevention and treatment | Dermatology | 11-2005
Pruritus ani is a common condition that's rarely taught or discussed, let alone researched. The most common cause is an irritant dermatitis due to incomplete hygiene that leaves fecal remnants ...
Is latex allergy on the rise? | Allergy | 10-2005
A past hand rash from rubber gloves would raise the suspicion of a latex allergy, but the most likely cause of such reactions is irritant dermatitis. If, however, the individual ...
Is latex allergy on the rise? | Dermatology | 10-2005
With the widespread use of gloves within the healthcare environment, the incidence of hand dermatitis is much higher. This has led to the presumption that anyone who wears gloves and ...
Which tests detect respiratory allergies? | Allergy | 12-2004
Patch testing is done to detect sensitization to agents that cause allergic contact dermatitis. Various typical allergens are placed in individual aluminum wells and taped to the skin for up ...
Allergy testing to topical anesthetic | Allergy | 11-2004
Allergy testing can be done to topical anesthetics. The nature of the reaction will help determine which test to use. For dermatitis, patch testing may be indicated an urticarial response ...
Relief for back-scratching itch | Dermatology | 06-2004
Looking for a cause for localized itch is the best approach. It may be due to a problem within the skin itself, or alternatively, there could be an abnormality of ...
Dermatographism: are allergy skin tests reliable? | Dermatology | 05-2004
Dermatographism is a variant of atopic dermatitis where the skin reacts with urticarial wheals rather than scaling, thickened skin. It's frequently seen in otherwise healthy, young individuals and may be ...
Investigating axillary lumps | Imaging | 02-2004
Unilateral or asymmetrical axillary adenopathy is very common. The causes are often benign in nature, including reactive changes in the lymph nodes from regional infection lymphoid hyperplasia or those due ...
Tips on tea tree oil allergy | Allergy | 01-2004
Extracted by steam distillation of the foliage of Melaleuca alternifolia, or the Australian tea tree, tea tree oil is a combination of monoterpenes, sesquiterpenes and terpene alcohols. Some people use ...
Pinpointing the cause of perioral dermatitis | Dermatology | 09-2003
Perioral dermatitis is a common condition. A typical presentation includes redness, papules and scaling around the mouth and nostrils. The condition flares for no apparent reason, and is quite distressing. ...
Can yeast become resistant to ketoconazole? | Dermatology | 11-2002
P. ovale has been implicated as the causative agent in a number of conditions, such as seborrheic dermatitis, pityriasis tinea versicolor and pityrosporum folliculitis. This organism thrives on the oil ...
TOPICAL TACROLIMUS FOR ATOPIC DERMATITIS | ENT | 09-2002
At the time of writing, tacrolimus ointment Protopic, marketed by Fujisawa Canada is now available in two forms, 0.03 and 0.1 . Most of the pharmacology was determined from the ...
HTLV SCREENING IN BLOOD DONORS | Hematology | 07-2002
It's been demonstrated that HTLV can be transmitted through blood transfusion. Most HTLV carriers are asymptomatic, but about 1-5 develop adult T cell leukemia lymphoma and a smaller number get ...
Tackling skin changes from varicose veins | Dermatology | 06-2002
Chronic skin changes associated with venous insufficiency are very common, and unfortunately don't fade once vein stripping is done. Eczematous changes of the skin or stasis dermatitis both present with ...
LINKING PERIORBITAL DERMATITIS TO CARPETS | Allergy | 01-2002
Carpets do tend to trap house dust mites and pet danders, as well as other allergens. Periorbital dermatitis may be caused by allergic conjunctivitis, or could be due to a ...
ANY FOLLOW-UP FOR HTLV-1 CARRIERS? | Hematology | 10-2001
HTLV-1-associated infection has the highest prevalence in the southwestern district of Japan. It's also endemic in the Caribbean basin, parts of Africa, Latin America, the Middle East and the Pacific ...
MELTING AWAY EAR WAX | ENT | 09-2001
Cerumen accumulation in the external auditory canals varies and, to a degree, is beneficial for bactericidal reasons. If you're sure that the patient doesn't have a perforated ear drum behind ...
MONTELEUKAST: GOOD FOR ALLERGIES TOO? | Allergy | 05-2001
Monteleukast is a leukotriene receptor antagonist which is useful in treating asthma by reducing blood and sputum eosinophil. It's been shown to reduce symptoms in several randomized controlled trials of ...
KID'S RASH: NOW YOU SEE IT, NOW YOU DON'T | Pediatrics | 02-2001
The diagnosis of urticaria is characterized by their evanescent nature, and normal overlying epidermis. Papular urticaria insect bites erythema multiforms, prebullous eruption, drug eruption, acute contact dermatitis and collagen vascular ...
ALLERGY ATTACK: WHY AFTER ALL THESE YEARS | Allergy | 01-2001
People can develop food allergies at any time, but a history of atopic dermatitis does increase the chance of developing a reaction, especially with peanuts because they're highly allergenic. Strawberries ...
NAIL-BITING OVER NAIL PROBLEMS | Dermatology | 09-2000
A number of pathologies can affect nails, including onychomycosis -- a fungal infection of the nail melanonychia -- a pigmented brown lesion under the nail that can be caused by ...
LEUKOTRIENE RECEPTOR AGONISTS FOR ATOPIC DERMATITIS | Allergy | 08-2000
To date, we have only case reports on the effect of zafirlukast Accolate in treating atopic dermatitis, both in children and adults. In total nine patients are described, all with ...
CRADLE CAP: THE FUNGUS AMONG US | Dermatology | 07-2000
The yeast Malassezia ovalis is known to be present in higher numbers in the scaly epidermis of dandruff and seborrheic dermatitis, or cradle cap. It's been suggested that this growth ...
EAR ECZEMA: WHAT WORKS BEST? | ENT | 03-2000
Since eczema is a nonspecific term -- referring to acute or chronic inflammatory conditions of the skin -- the first step is to determine what's causing it, which may be ...
THE TROUBLE WITH "ALLERGY PREVENTION" DIETS FOR KIDS | Allergy | 02-2000
The concept of food avoidance during pregnancy to prevent allergies in children has been the focus of many studies, but with confusing results. With milk, egg and peanut allergies making ...
DERMATITIS HERPETIFORMIS, DAPSONE AND DIET | Dermatology | 08-1999
A gluten-free diet may clear all skin symptoms of dermatitis herpetiformis, but it isn't curative resuming a regular diet produces recurrence of skin disease in weeks to months. For most ...
ANTIFUNGALS FOR DANDRUFF? | Dermatology | 04-1999
Although most major studies of the effectiveness of antifungal agents in seborrheic dermatitis were done with ketoconazole, you'll get similar results with other imidazole drugs like clotrimazole or miconazole. Comparatively, ...
NON-STEROIDAL OPTIONS FOR ITCHY LIDS | Ophthalmology | 03-1999
Chronically irritated eyelid skin associated with a generalized dermatitis may often be treated with bland creams and ointments applied locally to the lid skin. A more common cause of itching ...
USING STEROID CREAMS IN BABIES | Dermatology | 01-1999
Infantile gluteal granuloma is a curious condition, found only in babies who wear diapers. It's been suggested that an alteration of host response to Candida, under the influence of steroids, ...
WOOD'S LAMP: EVERY OFFICE NEEDS ONE | Dermatology | 08-1997
The Wood's lamp is an important investigative tool in the diagnosis and treatment of many skin disorders, some of which are listed below. a Scalp ringworm, which can be diagnosed ...
LIP CONDITION CAN HAVE MANY CAUSES | Dermatology | 07-1997
This is a clinical syndrome in which four main groups of factors are implicated. These are a mechanical dentures, aging processes b systemic disorders which may increase the vulnerability of ...
GETTING TO THE BOTTOM OF DIAPER RASH | Pediatrics | 05-1997
Most cases of diaper rash are due to irritant dermatitis. The cause is now felt to be multifactorial with occlusion, maceration, microorganisms, and increased local pH all acting together. Milder ...
HELP FOR ITCHY EARS | ENT | 04-1997
Pruritis of the external canals can have local or systemic causes. In the absence of underlying dermatitis or infection, the itching may be associated with diabetes mellitis, renal and or ...
FOR FACIAL FUNGI, WHAT WORKS BEST? | Dermatology | 01-1997
Acute forms of seborrheic dermatitis of the face are usually sensitive to imidazole creams. Ketoconazole 2 , clotrinazole or miconazole can also be effective. It helps to wash frequently with ...
WHY SO PALE? | Dermatology | 04-1995
Abnormalities of pigmentation may be acquired or congenital, localized or generalized, associated with other cutaneous or systemic findings or isolated events. Some frequent causes include vitiligo, eczematous dermatitis, tinea versicolor, ...
ITCHY? WOW! | Dermatology | 08-1994
The skin lesion of the scalp may be seborrheic dermatitis. If it is you can try a ketoconazole shampoo and topical corticosteroids which are effective in bringing most cases under ...
ITCHY EARS MAY BE INFECTED | ENT | 06-1994
The term 'eczema' is a general term for any acute or chronic inflammation of the skin which can vary from a neurodermatitis to infectious diseases or atopy. Therefore, the most ...
DEODERANT DERMATITIS | Dermatology | 05-1994
Dermatitis from deoderants is rare. Most cases are of an irritant nature. Because the most common allergens are the perfumes, we recommend an unscented deoderant. Periaxillary dermatitis can also be ...
