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Suggest Treatment For Irritant Contact Dermatitis On Back
Question: Hello. This is from my fiancee's back, and it appears to me to be a lasered out tattoo and is centered at the base of her spine where tattoos are commonly found...and has not changed in appearance since I first noticed it several weeks ago...and does not itch or bother her...but she claims that she's never had a tattoo, and never noticed this area. There are no similar areas anywhere on her back or elsewhere on her body. I'm trying to rule out other possibilities. Pic was taken with her permission.
Brief Answer:
Stretch marks
Detailed Answer:
Hello and welcome to healthcaremagic
I have gone through your query and I have understood it. I have also looked at the Images.
This looks more like stretch marks(striae) to me like the ones which develop on abdomen after stretching associated with pregnancy. Few people can have them at other sites like thighs, buttocks, breasts and lower back.
Stretch marks form due to rupture of collagen framework of the dermis, as a result of stretching of skin. They are an inevitable consequence of pregnancy and weight gain for example.
On running the fingers over the abdomen, they can be felt as a gap in the skin.
Regards
Stretch marks
Detailed Answer:
Hello and welcome to healthcaremagic
I have gone through your query and I have understood it. I have also looked at the Images.
This looks more like stretch marks(striae) to me like the ones which develop on abdomen after stretching associated with pregnancy. Few people can have them at other sites like thighs, buttocks, breasts and lower back.
Stretch marks form due to rupture of collagen framework of the dermis, as a result of stretching of skin. They are an inevitable consequence of pregnancy and weight gain for example.
On running the fingers over the abdomen, they can be felt as a gap in the skin.
Regards
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
Thanks for the response, but I should note that these marks are clearly different from the stretch marks she has elsewhere, and there is some scarring. Anothr diagnosis offered elsewhere was "maculo papular rashes with erythema, either due to allergic or irritant contact dermatitis, or due to laser tattoo removal".
Would you concur with this possibility? And if this were the case, would the lack of itching, irritation, or any changes to the area over at least two months rule out contact dermatitis?
Your help greatly appreciated. I should add that running one's fingers across this area does not render a feeling of a gap in the skin, as it does in other areas where she has stretch marks.
Would you concur with this possibility? And if this were the case, would the lack of itching, irritation, or any changes to the area over at least two months rule out contact dermatitis?
Your help greatly appreciated. I should add that running one's fingers across this area does not render a feeling of a gap in the skin, as it does in other areas where she has stretch marks.
Brief Answer:
Stretch marks
Detailed Answer:
Hi.
Contact dermatitis or maculopapular rashes is unlikey to persist for so long without any symptoms e.g itching.
Moreover she herself denies to have ever got a tattoo.
Stretch marks specially if fresh can have erythema like this one. The gap develops later on when they become white and atrophic.
I am not 100% sure that they are stretch marks but it is a likely possibility. If you can upload a few more photographs with good clarity, may be i will be able to confirm it. The lesions in this photograph are somewhat suggestive of stretch marks looking at the morphology but to be 100% sure I would prefer a few more.
Alternatively, as a therapeutic trial, I would suggest that you ask her to apply a topical steroid e.g cortisone cream, twice daily over the affected area. A dermatitis would respond to topical steroid and becomes less noticeable as compared to stretch marks.
Regards
Stretch marks
Detailed Answer:
Hi.
Contact dermatitis or maculopapular rashes is unlikey to persist for so long without any symptoms e.g itching.
Moreover she herself denies to have ever got a tattoo.
Stretch marks specially if fresh can have erythema like this one. The gap develops later on when they become white and atrophic.
I am not 100% sure that they are stretch marks but it is a likely possibility. If you can upload a few more photographs with good clarity, may be i will be able to confirm it. The lesions in this photograph are somewhat suggestive of stretch marks looking at the morphology but to be 100% sure I would prefer a few more.
Alternatively, as a therapeutic trial, I would suggest that you ask her to apply a topical steroid e.g cortisone cream, twice daily over the affected area. A dermatitis would respond to topical steroid and becomes less noticeable as compared to stretch marks.
Regards
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
Hello. Let me reframe the question: absent any knowledge that she has denied getting a tattoo and having it removed, and going strictly by the picture- in your professional opinion does this look most like a lasered tattoo?Sorry, phrased poorly: would this be consistent with a lasered tattoo, and if not did you rule that out based on appearance or solely due to her denial of ever having had a tattoo?
Brief Answer:
Cannot be sure without considering her history
Detailed Answer:
Hi.
Just going solely by the appearance it is really difficult to be 100% sure since there is no residual pigment or color change as evidence of a past tattoo. Site is suggestive of a tattoo but that is not the sole criteria that it was a tattoo for sure.
I would rather keep a first possibility of either non-specific rashes or Sun light induced eruptions (if that area is exposed to sun) and ask her to apply a topical steroid e.g cortisone cream, twice daily for a few days.
-Tell me whether it is scaly, even if slightly scaly? or does it has dry, slightly flaky surface as compared to other areas on her back? I am asking you because i cannot make out from the picture.
-You said there is some scaring?Is the surface elevated?
Regards
Cannot be sure without considering her history
Detailed Answer:
Hi.
Just going solely by the appearance it is really difficult to be 100% sure since there is no residual pigment or color change as evidence of a past tattoo. Site is suggestive of a tattoo but that is not the sole criteria that it was a tattoo for sure.
I would rather keep a first possibility of either non-specific rashes or Sun light induced eruptions (if that area is exposed to sun) and ask her to apply a topical steroid e.g cortisone cream, twice daily for a few days.
-Tell me whether it is scaly, even if slightly scaly? or does it has dry, slightly flaky surface as compared to other areas on her back? I am asking you because i cannot make out from the picture.
-You said there is some scaring?Is the surface elevated?
Regards
Note: Hope the answers resolves your concerns, however for further guidance of skin related queries consult our Dermatologist.Click here to book a consultation
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
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