Dermestid Dermatitis in a 2‐Year‐Old Girl: Case Report and Review of the Literature

Abstract

Dermatitis from contact with carpet, larder, and hide beetles (family Dermestidae) is a seemingly uncommon or underrecognized hypersensitivity reaction to the specialized hairs on the larvae of certain dermestid beetles. The erythematous papulovesicular dermatitis that may result from such contact can be mistakenly construed as evidence of bites of bedbugs or other arthropods or infestation with scabies mites or can be the basis for a diagnosis of delusory parasitosis. We present a case of dermestid dermatitis in a 2-year-old girl and provide a review of the current literature.

Dermatitis caused by arthropods in domestic environment: an Italian multicentre study

“…In other reports, when detection method was specified, causative arthropods were researched and identified only on focally collected dust. 6,8,9,24 We observed a higher prevalence of ectoparasitoses in females (73.5%), as reported by other Authors. 25 Gender distribution is influenced by the kind of work done, typically domestic in our study, as showed by the prevalent male involvement in occupational ectoparasitoses.…”

“…Five clinical pictures were observed in our patients (Table ). Strophulus was the most frequent clinical picture both in insect (48.8%) and mite cases (45.5%), as reported by others . Urticaria‐like eruption was the second one, while scabies‐like eruption and erythematous papular and pustular lesions (4.1% and 3.1%, respectively) were rarely observed in our study (Fig.…”

“…This standardized modality to examine domestic dust allowed us to perform a parasitological screening of the entire house. In other reports, when detection method was specified, causative arthropods were researched and identified only on focally collected dust …”

“…Dermatitis induced by arthropods in domestic environments is an increasing health problem in industrialized countries. Nevertheless, systematic studies on skin diseases caused by mites and insects living in indoor environments have been rarely reported, and only several single case reports of skin injuries induced by a large variety of different arthropods were described …”

“…Nevertheless, systematic studies on skin diseases caused by mites and insects living in indoor environments have been rarely reported, [1][2][3] and only several single case reports of skin injuries induced by a large variety of different arthropods were described. [4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11] The presence of arthropods in indoor environments is conditioned by microclimatic factors and by arthropod reservoirs, such as moulds on walls, plants, pets and worm-eaten wooden structures (furniture, parquet, beams, firewood). Moreover, reproductive cycle of several indoor arthropods is seasonally conditioned and their seasonal peaks increase risk of morbidity for humans.…”