open access
Skin lesions in returning travellers
open access
Abstract
Skin lesions, apart from diarrhoeas, fever of unknown origin, and respiratory tract infections belong to the most frequent medical problems in travellers returned from tropical and subtropical destinations, accounting more than 10% of reported cases. Most dermatoses have their clinical onset during travel, although some of them can occur after return. Travel-related dermatological problems can have a wide spectrum of clinical picture, from macular, popular or nodular rash, linear and migratory lesions, to plaques, vesicles, bullae, erosions or ulcers. Skin conditions in returning travellers may be of infectious and non-infectious aetiologies. Infectious lesions may be originally tropical (e.g. dengue, chikungunya, schistosomiasis, leishmaniasis, myiasis, tungiasis, loiasis), although the majority are cosmopolitan (arthropod bites, sunburns, allergic rashes). The evaluation of skin lesions depends on many factors, including immune status of patients, use of medicines, exposure on health hazards (fauna, flora, risky behaviours), as well as the time, duration and location of travel. As the number of travellers to tropical and subtropical destinations has been continuously rising, the number of skin illnesses has also been increasing. This means that specialists in travel medicine need to extend their knowledge of epidemiology, clinical features and diagnosis of travel-related health problems including skin lesions in returning travellers.
Abstract
Skin lesions, apart from diarrhoeas, fever of unknown origin, and respiratory tract infections belong to the most frequent medical problems in travellers returned from tropical and subtropical destinations, accounting more than 10% of reported cases. Most dermatoses have their clinical onset during travel, although some of them can occur after return. Travel-related dermatological problems can have a wide spectrum of clinical picture, from macular, popular or nodular rash, linear and migratory lesions, to plaques, vesicles, bullae, erosions or ulcers. Skin conditions in returning travellers may be of infectious and non-infectious aetiologies. Infectious lesions may be originally tropical (e.g. dengue, chikungunya, schistosomiasis, leishmaniasis, myiasis, tungiasis, loiasis), although the majority are cosmopolitan (arthropod bites, sunburns, allergic rashes). The evaluation of skin lesions depends on many factors, including immune status of patients, use of medicines, exposure on health hazards (fauna, flora, risky behaviours), as well as the time, duration and location of travel. As the number of travellers to tropical and subtropical destinations has been continuously rising, the number of skin illnesses has also been increasing. This means that specialists in travel medicine need to extend their knowledge of epidemiology, clinical features and diagnosis of travel-related health problems including skin lesions in returning travellers.
Keywords
skin lesions, returning travellers, tropics
About this articleTitle
Skin lesions in returning travellers
Journal
Issue
Article type
Review article
Pages
173-180
Published online
2015-09-22
Page views
3102
Article views/downloads
5492
DOI
10.5603/IMH.2015.0034
Pubmed
Bibliographic record
IMH 2015;66(3):173-180.
Keywords
skin lesions
returning travellers
tropics
Authors
Krzysztof Korzeniewski
Dariusz Juszczak
Janusz Jerzemowski
