Popsicle Panniculitis of the Cheeks

Haxthausen's disease

“…Except for the lesions in the face and a positive ice-cube test, no pathological coldagglutinins or cryoglobulins or other abnormalities have been found in any of the published cases (Haxthausen, 1941;Rotman, 1966;Lowe, 1968;Epstein and Oren, 1970;Rajkumar et al, 1976). In spite of the high sensitivity to cold among small babies the condition is very little known in Scandinavian countries, although most babies there sleep outdoors every day, even in very cold weather.…”

“…According to Lemez (1928), it is possible to induce a nodule in the subcutis of a newborn baby in 100 per cent of the cases by the application of an icecube to the skin for 50 s. At six months of age only 40 per cent of the children react in that way and just a few at nine months of age. A condition similar to Haxthausen's disease has been described as 'popsicle panniculitis' (Epstein and Oren, 1970;Sembrot, 1970;Rajkumar et al, 1976). Children who have held a popsicle or an icecube in their mouth for some minutes have developed the same kind of indolent nodule in the cheek and also the purple spot on the outside of the skin.…”