L20- Dermatology

Question 1

What should you make sure you ask when taking a dermatology history?

Answer 1

• Symptoms e.g. itching and soreness
• past medical history
• Drug history including non prescribed treatments
• duration: when did it begin and how long
• presenting complaint: site of issue e.g. is it in mouth or just in the clefts
• any triggers?
• social and occupational, sexual history
• psychosocial impact of skin disease

Question 2

How to take a dermatology examination?

Answer 2

• adequate exposure and good lighting
• include hair and scalp, mucous membranes and nails
• comment on morphology- how individual lesions look and distribution
• palpate
• examine other systems if appropriate e.g. joints and lymph nodes

Question 3

a) What is eczema?
b) Symptoms?
c) Causes?
d) Psychosocial impact?
e) where on the body?

Answer 3

a) atopic dermatitis, chronic skin condition that makes the skin red, dry, itchy and cracked.
b) dry, itch skin and rash, inflammation, cracking and bleeding and lots of pain
c) unknown but thought to be in connection with other conditions such as asthma and allergies, can also be triggered by soap and detergents
d) social isolation, self conscious, cant sleep, missing school
e) skin creases, back of knees, isnide elbows, face

Question 4

What are the 6 clinical signs of inflammation?

Answer 4

1. Redness (rubor)
2. Swelling (Tumor)
3. Heat (Calor)
4. Pain (dolor)
5. Loss of function (functio laesa)
6. Itching (pruritus)

Question 5

What are the 3 major events that lead to inflammation?

Answer 5

1. Vasodilation (causing rubor [redness] and calor [heat])
2. Increased microvascular permeability resulting in production of protein rich exudate (causing tumor [swelling])
3. Influx of leukocytes

Question 6

What is lichenification?

Answer 6

Thickening of the skin with exaggerated skin markings

Question 7

a) What is psoriasis?
b) cause?
c) symptoms/signs?
d) part of body?

Answer 7

a) Skin condition that causes red, crusty patches of skin covered with silver scales.
b) thought to be an autoimmune disease
- cells are replaced more quickly than usual, cellsthat have not fully matured accumulate and the outer layer of keratin is lost
c) red crusty patches painful
d) elbows, knees, scalp and lower back