International journal of dermatology
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The practice of relaxing hair is intended to straighten it, so that it is easy to manage and style, and the result is aesthetically pleasing. We studied the impact of using hair relaxers in women in Nakuru, Kenya. ⋯ Despite the problems encountered, a significant number of Kenyan women in this region have used and continue to use relaxers.
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Case Reports
Two therapeutic challenges: periocular and genital vitiligo in children successfully treated with pimecrolimus cream.
Vitiligo is characterized by the selective destruction of melanocytes resulting in patches of skin depigmentation. Vitiligo is a therapeutic challenge. ⋯ The possible side effects of topical corticosteroids and the difficulties for choosing any other adequate treatment option are a major concern. We present two children, one with vitiligo of the eyelids and the other with genital vitiligo, both treated with pimecrolimus 1% cream with almost full repigmentation of the lesions, showing pimecrolimus could be an adequate option for the treatment of vitiligo for these special vitiligo areas in children.
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A 70-year-old man developed herpes zoster over the right L5-S2 region for 3 days and was admitted for acyclovir therapy. He had a medical history of rectal cancer status post-colostomy and end-stage renal disease undergoing thrice weekly hemodialysis. Without a prior loading dose, acyclovir 500 mg (7.7 mg/kg) daily was given intravenously in two divided doses. ⋯ Emergent hemodialysis (4-h/session) was given; the neuropsychotic symptoms, including agitation, delirium, and visual and auditory hallucinations, greatly abated after the second session. The patient fully recovered after three consecutive days of hemodialysis; the serum was rechecked and revealed that the acyclovir level was below 0.5 mg/l and the CMMG level was undetectable. At the same time, his herpetic skin lesions resolved well.
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Case Reports
Fixed drug eruption to cetirizine with positive lesional patch tests to the three piperazine derivatives.
The H1-antihistamine cetirizine, a piperazine derivative widely used in daily practice, is rarely the cause of cutaneous drug reaction. Nevertheless, four cases of fixed drug eruption (FDE) as a result of this drug have been described recently. We present the case of a 45-year-old woman with a multilocalized FDE following oral intake of cetirizine for allergic rhinitis. ⋯ To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of FDE to cetirizine with positive patch testing to hydroxyzine, cetirizine, and levocetirizine. This case highlights the importance of patch testing in the study of cutaneous drug reactions, namely FDE.
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The purse string suture can be used to provide primary closure for small skin defects or as a partial closure for larger round wounds. The size of the defect is reduced secondary to the tension placed on the suture, which uniformly advances the skin from the entire periphery of the wound. ⋯ The cuticular purse string suture is a rapid and simple procedure that provides complete or partial closure of round skin defects and excellent long-term cosmetic and functional results. This closure provides uniform tension to the wound, enhances hemostasis at the tissue edge, and significantly decreases the size of the defect. Partial wound closure with the purse string suture may be advantageous following the local excision of melanoma, either as definitive surgical wound management or as a temporary partial wound closure prior to subsequent complete repair of the surgical defect. The purse string suture is also useful following nonmelanoma skin cancer removal in patients who insist on maintaining an active lifestyle in the immediate postoperative period, who are receiving one or more systemic anticoagulant and/or antiplatelet agents, and who have large surgical wounds that would require either a skin graft or a local cutaneous flap in order to close the postoperative defect.