Scabiasis, dandruff and ringworm attack among children

Santo Domingo, DR
Dandruff, ringworm of the scalp, scabies, and stinging lesions are the leading causes of consultation recorded by the Department of Pediatric Dermatology of the “Dr. Huberto Bogaert Diaz” Dermatology and Skin Surgery Institute.

However, the service also receives and treats complex skin conditions, some of which are rare diseases, revealed Dr. Daisy Blanco, in charge of the Pediatric Dermatology service of the center.

Sometimes, said the specialist, the children arrive after they have been given different types of medications for the lesions. When they see that they do not heal, they go to the service specialized in pediatric dermatology. She called on the parents to go early to the pediatric dermatologist.

Interviewed during a visit to the editorial office of Listín Diario, the pediatric dermatologist emphasized that the Department of Pediatrics of the Dermatological Institute receives about 200 to 300 children daily, of which a part will require a long-term follow-up because of chronic pathologies.

She explained that during the first and second months of life, the main cause of consultation is seborrheic dermatitis or dandruff that covers the baby’s scalp and that ringworm of the head or scalp is more common among children between three and 14 years of age, especially at the beginning of the school year due to contact with other children.

“Some of them arrive at the institution in an advanced condition or inadequately medicated by the family that has tried applying products on them before going to the doctor,” said Dr. Blanco when explaining that ringworm is produced by a fungus and a kind of dandruff that is on the hair and looks like a kind of patch.

She said scabies is a lesion that has a high incidence among the patients who come to the center, especially in young children from two or three months to one year old, and a mite or parasite produces it.

Blanco additionally explained that once identified, the entire family must be treated. Its most frequent occurrence is during the coldest season, from December to February, because people tend to clean themselves less.