Dermatology News

Today, the FDA approved Seysara to treat inflammatory lesions of non-nodular moderate to severe acne vulgaris in patients aged 9 years and older, according to a press release issued by the drug manufacturer.

Essential oils are increasingly available in pharmacies, health food stores and grocery stores, and because they are often viewed as “natural,” parents may easily believe that their use is safe and effective for a wide variety of indications. Parents and caregivers of your patients may ask you: “Are essential oils safe to use, and are they effective?”

A 13-month-old male with a history of moderately severe eczema, diagnosed in early infancy, awoke with an exacerbation of his rash with subjective fever. He had been somewhat fussy for the previous 2 days, but his appetite was unchanged. His usual medications include Cetaphil (a water-based moisturizer lotion) and Aquaphor as a barrier ointment. However, because of this exacerbation, his parents sought the advice of a neighbor, who also has a child with mild eczema and who had just recovered from a case of hand-foot-and-mouth (HFM) disease. The neighbor suggested using some of her leftover “white lotion” that she had used to treat her child’s HFM disease. This lotion was applied to the patient at bedtime. The next morning, the patient felt more febrile and the rash was much worse, with numerous “bumps all over,” which prompted a visit to the local community hospital ER, where a temperature of 102.2°F was confirmed. Thinking the child may have progressive erythema multiforme or toxic epidermal necrolysis (TEN), he was given a dose of IV vancomycin and transferred to our children’s hospital PICU.

Researchers studied dozens of cases of noma, an orofacial gangrenous infection, and found that aspects of a patient’s home life, including their diet, could be risk factors for developing the disfiguring and often deadly disease, according to a recent study.

The FDA has approved a new drug application for Altreno, a topical treatment for acne vulgaris produced by Ortho Dermatologics.

A 14-year-old female presents to your clinic with a rash for 2 weeks. Initially, the rash began as a single oval scaly patch on the chest that was concerning for ringworm. The patient tried over-the-counter antifungal cream twice daily without improvement. The following week, she developed several more similar looking but smaller lesions on her abdomen and back. The rash is mildly pruritic. Her mother is very concerned it is contagious. On exam, the patient appears well. You see many round and oval pink, peripherally scaling patches and thin plaques on the chest, abdomen, back, inguinal folds and axillae.

Eating fast foods, particularly hamburgers, three or more times a week correlated to asthma in a dose-response pattern, according to a systematic review recently published in Respirology.

Almost one in five patients with psoriasis worldwide also had psoriatic arthritis, with congruous results seen across many different statistical subpopulations, according to data recently published in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology.

Summer is officially here, children are out of school, and summertime outdoor fun is beginning. Unfortunately, potential dangers are beginning as well because the sun’s radiation as well as biting insects can cause acute and long-term problems in children. The application of sunscreen and insect-repellent products can minimize or prevent these associated medical problems, such as sunburn and increased risk for skin cancer, or transmission of vector-borne diseases.

A healthy 11-year-old female presents with a rash about the face, including the eyelids. The rash first appeared about 2 months earlier as simple, uninflamed papules. They were initially thought to be a reaction to some new sunscreen, as some seemed to disappear while others occurred. They are described to be mildly pruritic and occasionally seen to have some inflamed skin about the area. Some similar lesions appeared on her right knee, which were thought to be related to insect bites. Her past medical history reveals no other pertinent health problems, including skin disorders, and no allergies were noted.