Polymorphous Light Dermatosis: Examination

A comprehensive clinical examination is the basis for selecting further diagnostic steps:

  • General physical examination – including blood pressure, pulse, body weight, height; further:
    • Inspection (viewing).
      • Skin [patchy erythema (areal redness of skin), followed by: bullae (blisters), papules (vesicles), papulo-vesicles (mixture of papule and vesicle (vesicle)), plaques]
      • Predilection sites (typical sites for the appearance of symptomatology):
        • Décolleté
        • Arms, stretch side
        • Back of the hand
        • Legs
        • Torso
        • Face
  • Dermatological examination [due todifferential diagnoses:
    • Chronic actinic dermatitis (light sickness).
    • Erythema exsudativum multiforme (synonyms: erythema multiforme, cocard erythema, disc rose) – acute inflammation occurring in the upper corium (dermis), which leads to typical cocard-shaped lesions; a distinction is made between a minor and a major form.
    • Hereditary polymorphous light dermatosis of American Indians.
    • Light urticaria (wheal formation after exposure to light).
    • Lupus erythematosus (LE) – group of autoimmune diseases that, among other things, leads to skin symptoms.
    • Lymphocytic infiltration
    • Photoallergic reactions
    • Phototoxic reactions]
  • Health check

Square brackets [ ] indicate possible pathological (pathological) physical findings.