Beyond Folliculitis: Recognizing Herpes Gladiatorum in Adolescent Athletes

A previously healthy 17-year-old adolescent male wrestler presented to the emergency department with right eyelid swelling, worsening pruritic rash on his forehead, headache, and temperature of 100.9°F despite 4 doses of cephalexin. The patient reported sustaining 4 abrasions on his forehead during a wrestling tournament 2 weeks before, but otherwise denied contact with anyone with skin infections. His symptoms began with paresthesia, followed by headache, pruritus, and eruption of the rash. On physical examination, he had pustules spanning his forehead and extending onto his scalp, as well as a confluent area of crusted lesions on his left forehead (Figure).

http://ift.tt/2ta1zP7