Newer Trends of Photodermatoses in Patients Attending Dermatology OPD in a Tertiary Care Center in Rural South India: An Observational Study
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Abstract
Background: Photodermatoses are skin conditions caused by electromagnetic radiation, which can come from artificial or solar sources including UV, visible light, and infrared (IR) radiation. Methods: Our study was conducted in a tertiary care center of Palakkad district in Kerala which is the gateway to Kerala due to the presence of the Palakkad Gap in the Western Ghats. Palakkad has a tropical wet and dry climate. The district being granary of Kerala, farming is a major occupation. According to Lehmann and Schwarz, photodermatoses can affect a person's quality of life but are not life-threatening, so prevention is more crucial. A descriptive cross-sectional study was designed and conducted for 1 year during February 2023 to January 2024. Results: A total of 97 patients with photodermatoses attended our OPD during the study period Prevalence was calculated to be 0.54%. Majority of the patients presented as PMLE (82%) as papules (47%) involving the upper limb (54%). Maximum cases had onset in the month of April, May and June. Conclusion: Manual labourers and Farmers who are exposed to direct sunlight >6 hours have high risk of developing photodermatoses. Photodermatoses are skin disorders mostly influenced by the age, socioeconomic status, and occupation of the patients. Standard operations protocol has to be implemented by state labour department regarding work hours of manual labourers with a mandatory 3 hours break in the afternoon from 12pm to 3pm and strict measures to ensure adherence with the same.
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Copyright (c) 2025 Prathyusha Prabhakar, Darsan S, Rudra Priya S
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