Do hypoallergenic skincare products contain fewer potential contact allergens?

Personal care products (PCPs) commonly cause allergic contact dermatitis (ACD). Skincare companies often market their products as 'hypoallergenic'; however, this term is not regulated by industry standards. To determine whether PCPs marketed as hypoallergenic are truly less likely to precipitate ACD, we conducted a study of ingredients found in 'hypoallergenic PCPs' from two major UK retailers in 2022.

Understanding psoriasis: the development of the immune pathogenesis.

Click here for the corresponding questions to this CME article.

A new model for categorizing cognitive biases and debiasing strategies in dermatology.

Cognitive biases are a significant cause of medical error. They arise from "system 1" thinking, which depends on heuristics to make quick decisions in complex situations. Heuristics make us "predictably irrational," distorting our ability to accurately assess probabilities in clinical scenarios.

Nail changes in diabetes.

Diabetes is a common condition that is increasing in incidence worldwide. Although the skin manifestations of this condition are well described, there is scant literature on the associated nail changes. In this review, we describe the various clinical features of nail changes associated with diabetes, which can be broadly divided into infections, vascular changes, neuropathic manifestations and miscellaneous changes, although there is overlap between them.

Case reports and narrative fallacies: the enigma of black swans in dermatology.

Narrative fallacy is a problematic heuristic that leads us to make inaccurate cause-effect relationships. They are a particular issue in case reports because of the limited scope of these papers, the perpetuated biases they proffer and the misperception of 'black swan' events. This article highlights the negative effects of these fallacies in dermatological practice through three case studies: the use of epinephrine with lignocaine at distal sites, the difference between once-daily and twice-daily application of topical steroids, and the effect of sterile gloves for skin surgery on infection rates.

Inflammatory nail conditions. Part 1: nail changes in psoriasis.

Nail changes are visible in a variety of inflammatory dermatoses. The commonest dermatological condition with nail manifestations is chronic plaque psoriasis. This two-part article reviews the nail signs in psoriasis in Part 1, and the nail changes in cutaneous lichen planus and alopecia areata in Part 2.

Inflammatory nail conditions. Part 2: nail changes in lichen planus and alopecia areata.

Nail changes are frequently seen in patients with cutaneous lichen planus and alopecia areata. This manuscript provides an updated overview on the clinical features, management and prognosis of both conditions. Searches of electronic databases PubMed and EMBASE were conducted and eligible articles were accessed.

Disseminated Mycobacterium simiae infection in a patient with adult-onset immunodeficiency due to anti-interferon-gamma antibodies - a case report.

Background: Mycobacterial species other than Mycobacterium tuberculosis and Mycobacterium leprae are generally free-living organisms and Mycobacterium simiae is one of the slowest growing Non-tuberculous mycobacteria. This is the first case report of Mycobacterium simiae infection in Sri Lanka and only very few cases with extrapulmonary manifestation reported in the literature.

Case Presentation: A 24-year-old, previously healthy Sri Lankan male presented with generalized lymphadenopathy with discharging sinuses, evening pyrexia, weight loss, poor appetite and splenomegaly.

Management of mucous membrane pemphigoid in a joint oral medicine-dermatology clinic.

Background: Mucous membrane pemphigoid (MMP) comprises a group of immunobullous diseases involving the mucosa and skin. Potential sequelae include painful mucosal erosions, vision loss and laryngeal stenosis.

Aim: To characterize the features of patients with MMP seen within an Oral Medicine setting, including clinical features, immunofluorescence results and response to treatment.

Double trouble: ciclosporin-simvastatin coinduced rhabdomyolysis.

A 73-year-old woman presented with an acute exacerbation of her long-standing psoriasis. Ciclosporin was commenced due to the severity of her symptoms resulting in remission within 2 weeks. Full blood count, urea and electrolytes following initiation of treatment were unremarkable, although she complained of muscle aches, which was attributed to her known multiple sclerosis.

H Syndrome - A Case Report.

This case report describes a case of H syndrome with characteristic cutaneous hyperpigmentation, hypertrichosis, sclerodermatous thickening, and multisystem involvement such as hearing loss and heart anomaly in an Indian patient. There are around 100 cases of this rare, autosomal recessive genodermatosis reported in the literature, out of which 10 cases are from the Indian population. The aim of this paper is to increase awareness about this novel inherited form of histiocytosis and insist on the role of dermatologists to identify such patients in our population where consanguinity is prevalent.