Dermatologic Conditions in South Asia (For Professionals)

Dermatologic Conditions in South-East Asia (For Professionals)

• There are only 7 derms per million people in India. Mostly in metroppolitan areas which means that in rural areas, this can go down to one dermatologist for a million people.
• Insurance only covers inpatient treatment, not chronic disorders. For 99% of the population, IVIG, biologics and ciclosporine are too expensive

Abuse of corticosteroids as available in india over the counter:

• 2926 patients with facial dermatoses screened

1. 433 (14.8%) were using topical corticosteroids (TC)
2. In 126 (29%) it was used for skin fairness/ general purpose/aftershave and for acne in 258 (59.6%)
3. Potent and Superpotent TC significantly used more (p lower than 0.05) in the rural-suburban population. Younger patients were also more prone to using potent TC
4. Non physician recommendation in 257 cases (59.3%). of this 232 (90.3%) was for potent-superpotent TC

Contributors:

Dr Christophe HSU – dermatologist. Geneva, Switzerland

Sharma VK, The Many Faces of Asian Dermatology – 22nd World Congress of Dermatology (WCD) – Seoul, South Korea