title: Scaling skin disorders.
abstract: Scaling skin disorders have similar features. Careful inspection to determine the characteristics of the primary lesion, along with distribution patterns and performance of routine diagnostic tests, usually lead to a correct diagnosis. Potassium hydroxide examination should be performed on most scaling skin disorders. If a microscope is not readily available, skin scrapings should be sent to a microbiology laboratory, or a microscope should be purchased and training obtained. A binocular microscope is preferable to view fungal hyphae. KOH examination requires supervised experience to become proficient.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Bay Pines, FL 33744, USA.
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Sinni-McKeehen
mesh_terms: D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D006801:Humans; D006878:Hydroxides; D009722:Nurse Practitioners; D017680:Potassium Compounds; D017443:Skin Diseases, Eczematous / Q000175:diagnosis*; D017444:Skin Diseases, Papulosquamous / Q000175:diagnosis*
chemical_list: D006878:Hydroxides; D017680:Potassium Compounds; C029943:potassium hydroxide