title: Five Cases of Phytophotodermatitis Caused by Fig Leaves and Relevant Literature Review.
abstract: Phytophotodermatitis is a condition caused by sequential exposure to photosensitizing substances present in plants followed by ultraviolet light. Several plants (e.g., limes, celery, fig, and wild parsnip) contain furocoumarin compounds (psoralens). It is important for dermatologists to be aware of phytophotodermatitis because it may be misdiagnosed as cellulitis, tinea, or allergic contact dermatitis. We present five patients with a sharply defined erythematous swollen patch with bullae on both feet. They described soaking their feet in a fig leaves decoction to treat their underlying dermatologic diseases. Within 24 hours, all patients had a burning sensation in their feet, and erythema and edema had developed on the feet dorsa with exception of the portion of the skin covered by the sandals. Histopathologic examinations revealed sub-epithelial blisters with intensive epidermal necrosis. Phytophotodermatitis was ultimately diagnosed and, after several days, the patients' skin lesions began to recover upon treatment with systemic and topical corticosteroids. Unfortunately, since there are no studies providing sufficient evidence on the benefits of fig leaves, they should be used with caution.
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, School of Medicine, Pusan National University, Busan, Korea.
authors.forename: Jin-Hwa
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Son
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, School of Medicine, Pusan National University, Busan, Korea.
authors.forename: Hyunju
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Jin
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, School of Medicine, Pusan National University, Busan, Korea.
authors.forename: Hyang-Suk
authors.initials: HS
authors.lastname: You
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, School of Medicine, Pusan National University, Busan, Korea.
authors.forename: Woo-Haing
authors.initials: WH
authors.lastname: Shim
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, School of Medicine, Pusan National University, Busan, Korea.
authors.forename: Jeong-Min
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, School of Medicine, Pusan National University, Busan, Korea.
authors.forename: Gun-Wook
authors.initials: GW
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, School of Medicine, Pusan National University, Busan, Korea.
authors.forename: Hoon-Soo
authors.initials: HS
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, School of Medicine, Pusan National University, Busan, Korea.
authors.forename: Hyun-Chang
authors.initials: HC
authors.lastname: Ko
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, School of Medicine, Pusan National University, Busan, Korea.; Biomedical Research Institute, Pusan National University Hospital, Busan, Korea.
authors.forename: Moon-Bum
authors.initials: MB
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, School of Medicine, Pusan National University, Busan, Korea.; Biomedical Research Institute, Pusan National University Hospital, Busan, Korea.
authors.forename: Byung-Soo
authors.initials: BS
authors.lastname: Kim
keywords: Ficus; Photodermatitis; Remedy