Pityriasis alba (dartre)

Easy to diagnose !

• Epidemiology: frequent in children and young adults
• Clinically: hypopigmentation with desquamation (peeling) on the whole body but very cumbersome when localized on the face (picture)
• Etiology:

1. often, there is a personal or familial history of atopy
2. it is probably a mild form of dermatitis (eczema)

• Treatment:

1. responds poorly to UV based light sources (sunlight, phototherapy)
2. does not respond to potent topical steroids
3. responds to topical non potent steroids (hydrocortisone, desonide), and occasionnally to more potent corticosteroids such as mometasone furoate 0.1%

Contributors:

Dr Christophe HSU – dermatologist. Geneva, Switzerland

Source of information: Nordlund J. Disorders of Pigmentation. 70th Annual Meeting of the AAD (American Academy of Dermatology) – San Diego, California, United States of America (USA)