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Abstract
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Skin acts as a barrier against external injurious stimuli including heat, friction, chemicals, etc., However, in many circumstances, patients land up to our clinic with self-inflicted injuries on the skin. We hereby report a case of an elderly lady with garlic paste induced chemical burn on the thigh.
A 60-year-old lady presented to the outpatient department with a painful ulcerative lesion on the right knee which started two days ago. She was a known case of advanced osteoarthritis of both knee joints for the last seven years, and she used to visit multiple physicians for her knee pain with moderate relief in symptoms. On being advised by one of the family members, the patient ground 10-12 cloves of garlic to a fine paste and applied the paste on the right knee joint at bedtime and covered it with a cotton cloth four days prior to consultation. The next morning, she noticed intense burning pain and discomfort in the area. Thereafter, there was the appearance of blisters which ruptured to attain the present status. There was no previous history of similar episodes.
Allium sativum (garlic) is recommended by naturopathic practitioners, for the treatment of numerous conditions.[1] It has been reported to possess antifungal, antiparasitic, antiviral, and antimicrobial properties. It is given either orally or topically. However, raw garlic in its fresh, crushed-clove form, is a potent irritant and it can lead to troublesome cutaneous adverse reactions. [2,3] It can lead to irritant contact dermatitis consistent with our case, and a delayed-type hypersensitivity reaction in previously sensitized individuals. It must be noted that in housewives and chefs with hand dermatitis, allergic contact dermatitis to garlic can occur and this is seen fairly common.[4] However irritant contact dermatitis to garlic leading to garlic burns has been reported infrequently.
Garlic burn was first described by Parish et al. in 1987.[5] Garlic burns may develop in other circumstances as well, including occupational dermatitis and factitious dermatitis. Occupational irritant contact dermatitis to garlic has been reported in housewives, cooks, food handlers, and Chinese janitors.[6] Factitial dermatitis due to garlic application, is a well-known ploy utilized by malingers. Kaplan et al. reported three Israeli soldiers who presented with erythematous, vesicular lesions on the lower limb leg, following the application of garlic...
Language: en |