Presentation The patient is generally very uncomfortable with intense itching. There may be a history of similar episodes and perhaps a known precipitating agent (bee or fire ant sting, food, or drug). More often, the patient will have only a…
Presentation The patient is troubled with an intensely pruritic rash that often consists of raised lesions that develop into vesicles and are usually formed in a streaked or linear pattern. Eventually there is a weeping, honey-colored crust, confluence of vesicles,…
Presentation Patients usually seek medical care for athlete’s foot, jock itch, or ringworm when pruritus is severe or when secondary infection causes pain and swelling. Worrisome spreading of the rash, along with an unsightly and annoying appearance, will also motivate…
Presentation The patient arrives with a tick attached to the skin ( Fig. 182.1 ) and is often frightened or disgusted and concerned about developing Lyme disease, Rocky Mountain spotted fever (RMSF), or “tick fever.” Alternatively, the patient may only…
Presentation Patients generally seek help only if their sunburn is severe. There will be a history of extended exposure to sunlight or to an artificial source of ultraviolet radiation, such as a sunlamp. Patients at highest risk typically have fair…
Presentation Patients seek help because of an intense pruritic or painful eruption of red raised welts, sometimes like mosquito bites. They are at times confluent, appearing in areas that had been covered by swimwear ( Fig. 180.1 ). This will…
Presentation Patients present for evaluation due to inability to sleep as a result of intense itching. Severe pruritus, which is the hallmark of this disease, is intensified at night for unclear reasons. These patients have skin lesions that include mite…
Presentation Often there is a history of a laceration or minor trauma to the skin or mucous membrane several days to a few weeks before presentation, but in most cases there is no apparent cause. The head, neck, and extremities…
Presentation Patients with this rash often seek acute medical help because of the worrisome sudden spread of a rash that began with one local skin lesion. This “herald patch” may develop anywhere on the body, but it is typically on…
Presentation Patients arrive with emotions ranging from annoyance to sheer disgust at the discovery of an infestation with lice or crabs and request acute medical care. There may be extreme pruritus, and the patient may bring in a sample of…