Trends in dermatological practice in work with patients with skin diseases during the COVID-19 pandemic: our experience and observations

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has changed many areas of life, including habits and trends in dermatological practice and dermatology patients' lifestyles. This article presents cases of patients infected with COVID-19, patients that developed lesions due to pandemic-related public health measures affecting the skin, and those that developed skin lesions after COVID-19 vaccination. One case concerned a female patient with widespread urticaria that had repeatedly gone to emergency rooms and had been administered corticosteroids and antihistamines for an undiagnosed COVID-19 infection that had been triggering her urticaria outbreaks. Another patient complained of urticaria outbreaks and was examined and treated multiple times at emergency rooms until a dermatological follow-up determined he was suffering from dysmorphophobia. Among those with lesions due to frequent hygiene during the pandemic, we examined a female with contact dermatitis triggered by repeated and prolonged contact with hand disinfectant. Another patient presented with a phototoxic reaction on the neck after using hand disinfectant. In addition, we saw widespread lesions on a patient that reported recently being vaccinated against COVID-19. Finally, in an effort to prevent COVID-19 transmission, we believe that a first-time onset of non-specific exanthema indicates COVID-19 testing because it may be an early indicator of viral infection.