IMAGE ARTICLE | https://doi.org/10.5005/jp-journals-10070-6118 |
Image Challenge
Institute of Post Graduate Medical Education and Research and Seth Sukhlal Karnani Memorial Hospital, Kolkata, India
Corresponding Author: Rudrajit Paul, Institute of Post Graduate Medical Education and Research and Seth Sukhlal Karnani Memorial Hospital, Kolkata, India, Phone: +91 9433824341, e-mail: r.paul.medicalcollege@gmail.com
How to cite this article Paul R. Image Challenge. Bengal Physician Journal 2019;6(2):36.
Source of support: Nil
Conflict of interest: None
A 40-year-old man, in the critical care unit, was found to have these skin lesions (Fig. 1) during daily rounds. No new drug had been introduced in the last 3 days and he had no known skin disorder. He did not complain of any symptoms related to the lesions.
What is the diagnosis? What is the treatment?
Fig. 1: Lesions on the patient’s skin
Answer
This patient has miliaria crystallina (sometimes called sweat bubbles in colloquial terms).
Treatment
Cooling and drying of involved areas and avoiding occlusive dresses. Prolonged covering of patients with thick blankets in the critical care may lead to this condition (due to prolonged hyperthermia). Thus, patients in the CCU should not be covered round the clock.
Preventive Treatment
Frequent change of posture to prevent occlusion of sweat gland ducts in back and flexor areas.
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