Common Dermatologic Conditions in Returning Travelers
- PMID: 34458071
- PMCID: PMC8389143
- DOI: 10.1007/s40475-021-00231-8
Common Dermatologic Conditions in Returning Travelers
Abstract
Purpose of review: Travel medicine practitioners often are confronted with returning travelers with dermatologic disorders that could be of infectious causes or inflammatory or allergic. Some dermatologic processes are the result of exposure to insects or acquired due to environmental exposures. There is a broad range of dermatosis of infectious and non-infectious etiologies that clinicians need to consider in the differential diagnosis of dermatosis in travelers.
Recent findings: With increasing international travel to tropical destinations, many individuals may be exposed to rickettsia (i.e., African tick bite fever, scrub typhus, or Mediterranean spotted fever), parasitic infections (i.e., cutaneous larva migrans, cutaneous leishmaniasis, African trypanosomiasis, or American trypanosomiasis), viral infections (i.e., measles or Zika virus infection), bacterial (i.e., Buruli ulcer) or ectoparasites (scabies or tungiasis), and myiasis. Cutaneous lesions provide clinical clues to the diagnosis of specific exposures during travel among returned travelers.
Summary: Dermatologic disorders represent the third most common health problem in returned travelers, after gastrointestinal and respiratory illness. Many of these conditions may pose a risk of severe complications if there is any delay in diagnosis. Therefore, clinicians caring for travelers need to become familiar with the most frequent infectious and non-infectious skin disorders in travelers.
Keywords: Cutaneous Larva Migrans; Dermatologic; Leishmaniasis; Myiasis; Phytophotodermatitis; Prurigo Nodularis; Travelers; Tungiasis.
Conflict of interest statement
Conflict of Interest All authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.
Figures










Similar articles
-
Dermatologic Infectious Diseases in International Travelers.Curr Infect Dis Rep. 2004 Feb;6(1):54-62. doi: 10.1007/s11908-004-0025-2. Curr Infect Dis Rep. 2004. PMID: 14733850
-
Illness in travelers returned from Brazil: the GeoSentinel experience and implications for the 2014 FIFA World Cup and the 2016 Summer Olympics.Clin Infect Dis. 2014 May;58(10):1347-56. doi: 10.1093/cid/ciu122. Epub 2014 Feb 28. Clin Infect Dis. 2014. PMID: 24585698 Free PMC article.
-
Skin infections in returned travelers: an update.Curr Infect Dis Rep. 2015 Mar;17(3):467. doi: 10.1007/s11908-015-0467-8. Curr Infect Dis Rep. 2015. PMID: 25821190
-
Travelers' tropical skin diseases: Challenges and interventions.Dermatol Ther. 2019 Jul;32(4):e12665. doi: 10.1111/dth.12665. Epub 2018 Sep 14. Dermatol Ther. 2019. PMID: 30216601 Review.
-
Got the Travel Bug? A Review of Common Infections, Infestations, Bites, and Stings Among Returning Travelers.Am J Clin Dermatol. 2016 Oct;17(5):451-462. doi: 10.1007/s40257-016-0203-7. Am J Clin Dermatol. 2016. PMID: 27344566 Review.
Cited by
-
The Constant Threat of Zoonotic and Vector-Borne Emerging Tropical Diseases: Living on the Edge.Front Trop Dis. 2021 May 4;2:676905. doi: 10.3389/fitd.2021.676905. eCollection 2021. Front Trop Dis. 2021. PMID: 34010366 Free PMC article. No abstract available.
-
Present and future: Infectious tropical travel rashes and the impact of climate change.Ann Allergy Asthma Immunol. 2023 Apr;130(4):452-462. doi: 10.1016/j.anai.2022.12.025. Epub 2022 Dec 24. Ann Allergy Asthma Immunol. 2023. PMID: 36574899 Free PMC article. Review.
-
Expert Opinion Guidance on the Detection of Early Connective Tissue Diseases in Interstitial Lung Disease.Open Access Rheumatol. 2023 May 29;15:93-102. doi: 10.2147/OARRR.S401709. eCollection 2023. Open Access Rheumatol. 2023. PMID: 37273763 Free PMC article.
References
-
- Hochedez P, Caumes E. Common skin infections in travelers. J Travel Med. 2008;15(4):252–62 - PubMed
-
This is a classic article written by dermatologist with extensive experience and expertise in travel medicine which provides a detailed description of dermatologic conditions in travelers.
-
- Wilson ME, Chen LH. Dermatologic infectious diseases in international travelers. Curr Infect Dis Rep. 2004;6:54–62 - PubMed
-
In depth narrative review of dermatologic conditions in travelers.
Grants and funding
LinkOut - more resources
Full Text Sources
Research Materials