Naked Science Forum

Life Sciences => Physiology & Medicine => Topic started by: Fitbike89 on 22/06/2008 06:34:22

Title: What could this discoloration be?
Post by: Fitbike89 on 22/06/2008 06:34:22

My girlfriend randomly got a red patch on her ankle. We didn't think anything of it. Until it started spreading. IT does not itch and it is not raised up. It is a faint red colour. Now there are two new patches on her ankle and more running up the leg. IT has also spread to the other leg, but not as bad. Every few days it seems to have gotten more. She thought her parents were going to take her to the dermatologist, so she didn't shave her legs for a week or so so they couldn't blame it for razor burn. In that week she noticed, and I noticed, that the hair on the red patches was thicker and a little bit longer. Any ideas of what it could be?

Title: What could this discoloration be?
Post by: RD on 22/06/2008 08:48:34

Possibly dermatitis ...
http://www.dermnetnz.org/dermatitis/dermatitis.html

If she recently changed the products she uses to shave her legs that could be the cause.
[some razors now release a "balm"].

The recent sunny weather may be a factor...

Quote

Photoallergy
Sometimes contact allergy arises only after the skin has been exposed to ultraviolet light.
The rash is confined to sun exposed areas even though the allergen may have been in contact with covered areas.
This is called photocontact dermatitis.

Examples include:
Dermatitis due to a sunscreen chemical, affecting the top but not the under surface of the arm

http://www.dermnetnz.org/dermatitis/contact-allergy.html
 

Title: What could this discoloration be?
Post by: grumpy old mare on 22/06/2008 09:44:15

I would take your girlfriend to see a doctor! Just to be on the safe side! (ok - I don't know where you live and how easy that is, of course I'm spoilt not having to pay 'extra' to see a doctor here)

Title: What could this discoloration be?
Post by: Fitbike89 on 22/06/2008 20:43:30

Well she doesn't use any products, and she has an appointment this week to have it checked out.  Her parents are just being ridiculous (the kind that wait until something is at an extreme before having it seen by a doctor), and have been waiting almost 4 months to take her in.

Title: What could this discoloration be?
Post by: RD on 03/02/2010 07:26:13

Koebner Phenomenon ?

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Quote

Figure 7. Palpable purpura can appear in many different patterns . This picture shows a denser distribution with a sharp demarcation caused by what is known as Koebner's Phenomenon (Minor trauma, such as the elastic band in one's sock, can cause such a pattern). In this case, the “trauma” was caused by the patient's shaving of her legs, leading to the eruption of purpura in the area of skin where the razor had passed.

http://vasculitis.med.jhu.edu/typesof/hsp.htm