Skin Flashcards
Describe things that you would look for when performing a general assessment of a patient
- Alertness and orientation (person place and time)
- Age and state of health
- Race, nutritional status, dress, odor, and hygiene
- Apparent state of health: are they sick or toxic looking
- Posture and affect
What are common signs of distress?
Flat affect
Verbal tones that are consistent with anger, frustration, and impatience
Flushing of the face, sweating
Restless and shifting
Define an unsteady gait
Lack of coordination Abnormal posture during ambulation Gait influenced Muscle abnormalities Nervous system
What are the causes of an unsteady gait?
Inflammatory joint diseases Bone infection Muscle diseases Tendon diseases Due to trauma Congenital diseases Footwear
Describe a Parkinsonian gait?
- Trunk, head, and neck forward with the knees flexed
- Wide base with a small shuffling step
- Trend to fall forward and increase in speed (destination)
What are the general characteristics of the skin exam inspection portion?
Color Lesions Rashes Scars Tattoos
What are the general characteristics of the skin exam palpation portion?
General character temperature moisture turgor crepitus pigmentation lesions and scars
Describe the ABCDE screening for melanoma
A: asymmetry
B: Borders (is it irregular, ragged, notched, blurred)
C: Color- blackish, bluish (depth of invasion), white mixed, red
D: Diameter-is it greater than 6 cm
E: Evolution- changing in size and morphology
Describe the nail assessment
Appearance
Texture
Angles
Shape
Describe the hair assessment
- hirsutism: excessive hairiness in women
- Virilization: secondary male characteristics in females
- Alopecia: balding, loss of hair
- Character: coarse, dry, brittle, oily, unkempt
- Patterns: scalp, face, extremities, torso, pubic
When there is tenting of the skin, what are the things that you should suspect?
Turgor, elasticity, moist, dry
What is the most common place for basal and squamous cell carcinomas?
The face
Describe the HEENT exam
Eyes: Check the eyes for jaundice or any signs of injection; note the color, injection, erythema, or swelling
Nose: Examine nostrils for tumors or erosions
Oral cavity: Examine surfaces of mucosa looking for anything abnormal
Ears: Look for abnormalities
Describe clubbing of the nails
the angle of the nail is more than 180 degrees and the nails slant downwards
Describe the leg examinations
In women, look for melanomas (common on the legs)
Check for pulses, pallor, and decreased temperature for vascular disease
Look for any fungal infections or rashes
