Dermatology clinic
BMJ 2001; 323 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/sbmj.0107232 (Published 01 July 2001) Cite this as: BMJ 2001;323:0107232
- Susannah Baron, specialist registrar in dermatology1
- 1Leeds
The storm clouds have lifted and summer has finally arrived. So begins the British seasonal madness of throwing off clothing, exposing as much sun starved flesh as possible to any available rays, and joining the huge traffic queues heading to the coast.
The summer brings a variety of problems for the dermatologist. Many skin conditions such as psoriasis, eczema, and acne improve with ultraviolet exposure, although everyone is different and some people find that their skin rashes flare in the sun. The summer can also be a particularly difficult time for some people who often find it embarrassing to remove clothing, thus making their rashes visible to the not always sympathetic public. People with psoriasis have been asked to get out of public swimming baths and children are sometimes pulled away from people with skin conditions as parents wrongly assume that the rash is catching.
This man developed acute, streaky, linear erythema and bullae 24 hours after chopping rue in his garden. This is typical of phytophotodermatitis, as the rash has developed where the plant was in contact with the skin, and these areas exposed to sunlight. The active ingredient in the plant is furocoumarins which are psoralens, and the phototoxic reaction develops with their simultaneous exposure to light in the 320- 380 nm waveband.
The …
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