Acrodermatitis /ac·ro·der·ma·ti·tis/ is a

childhood A child ( : children) is a human being between the stages of birth and puberty, or between the developmental period of infancy and puberty. The legal definition of ''child'' generally refers to a minor, otherwise known as a person younger t ...

form of

dermatitis Dermatitis is inflammation of the skin, typically characterized by itchiness, redness and a rash. In cases of short duration, there may be small blisters, while in long-term cases the skin may become thickened. The area of skin involved can ...

selectively affecting the

hands A hand is a prehensile, multi- fingered appendage located at the end of the forearm or forelimb of primates such as humans, chimpanzees, monkeys, and lemurs. A few other vertebrates such as the koala (which has two opposable thumbs on ea ...

and

feet The foot ( : feet) is an anatomical structure found in many vertebrates. It is the terminal portion of a limb which bears weight and allows locomotion. In many animals with feet, the foot is a separate organ at the terminal part of the leg mad ...

and may be accompanied by mild

symptoms Signs and symptoms are the observed or detectable signs, and experienced symptoms of an illness, injury, or condition. A sign for example may be a higher or lower temperature than normal, raised or lowered blood pressure or an abnormality showi ...

fever Fever, also referred to as pyrexia, is defined as having a temperature above the normal range due to an increase in the body's temperature set point. There is not a single agreed-upon upper limit for normal temperature with sources using val ...

and

malaise As a medical term, malaise is a feeling of general discomfort, uneasiness or lack of wellbeing and often the first sign of an infection or other disease. The word has existed in French since at least the 12th century. The term is often used ...

. It may also be associated with

hepatitis B Hepatitis B is an infectious disease caused by the '' Hepatitis B virus'' (HBV) that affects the liver; it is a type of viral hepatitis. It can cause both acute and chronic infection. Many people have no symptoms during an initial infection. F ...

and other viral

infections An infection is the invasion of tissues by pathogens, their multiplication, and the reaction of host tissues to the infectious agent and the toxins they produce. An infectious disease, also known as a transmissible disease or communicable dise ...

. The lesions appear as small coppery-red, flat-topped firm papules that appear in crops and sometimes in long linear strings, often symmetric. It is a

diffuse Diffusion is the net movement of anything (for example, atoms, ions, molecules, energy) generally from a region of higher concentration to a region of lower concentration. Diffusion is driven by a gradient in Gibbs free energy or chemical p ...

chronic skin disease usually confined to the limbs, seen mainly in

women A woman is an adult female human. Prior to adulthood, a female human is referred to as a girl (a female child or adolescent). The plural ''women'' is sometimes used in certain phrases such as "women's rights" to denote female humans regardl ...

in Northern,

Central Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known a ...

, and

Eastern Eastern may refer to: Transportation *China Eastern Airlines, a current Chinese airline based in Shanghai *Eastern Air, former name of Zambia Skyways *Eastern Air Lines, a defunct American airline that operated from 1926 to 1991 * Eastern Air L ...

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located enti ...

, and characterized initially by an

erythema Erythema (from the Greek , meaning red) is redness of the skin or mucous membranes, caused by hyperemia (increased blood flow) in superficial capillaries. It occurs with any skin injury, infection, or inflammation. Examples of erythema not asso ...

tous,

oedematous Edema, also spelled oedema, and also known as fluid retention, dropsy, hydropsy and swelling, is the build-up of fluid in the body's tissue. Most commonly, the legs or arms are affected. Symptoms may include skin which feels tight, the area ma ...

pruritic Itch (also known as pruritus) is a sensation that causes the desire or reflex to scratch. Itch has resisted many attempts to be classified as any one type of sensory experience. Itch has many similarities to pain, and while both are unpleasant ...

phase followed by sclerosis and

atrophy Atrophy is the partial or complete wasting away of a part of the body. Causes of atrophy include mutations (which can destroy the gene to build up the organ), poor nourishment, poor circulation, loss of hormonal support, loss of nerve supply ...

. It is caused by infection with ''

Borrelia burgdorferi ''Borrelia burgdorferi'' is a bacterial species of the spirochete class in the genus '' Borrelia'', and is one of the causative agents of Lyme disease in humans. Along with a few similar genospecies, some of which also cause Lyme disease, it ...

''. __TOC__

Types

Types include: *

Acrodermatitis enteropathica Acrodermatitis enteropathica is an autosomal recessive metabolic disorder affecting the uptake of zinc through the inner lining of the bowel, the mucous membrane. It is characterized by inflammation of the skin (dermatitis) around bodily openings ...

Acropustulosis Acropustulosis refers to acrodermatitis with pustular involvement. Types include: * Pustulosis palmaris et plantaris * Infantile acropustulosis Infantile acropustulosis is an intensely itchy vesicopustular eruption of the hands and feet.James, ...

Acrodermatitis chronica atrophicans Acrodermatitis chronica atrophicans (ACA) is a skin rash indicative of the third or late stage of European Lyme borreliosis. ACA is a dermatological condition that takes a chronically progressive course and finally leads to a widespread atrop ...

** Papular acrodermatitis of childhood ** Dermatitis repens

References

External links

Abnormalities of dermal fibrous and elastic tissue Recalcitrant palmoplantar eruptions Virus-related cutaneous conditions Genodermatoses {{dermatology-stub