Identification? And any thought on what it's doing on a toe?
Monday, July 23, 2018
Case of the Week 503
This week's case is a fun identification from Florida Fan. A podiatrist submitted a toe nail sample from an elderly female for fungal smear and culture. Fungus wasn't seen using KOH Calcofluor staining, but instead something else was noted:
Identification? And any thought on what it's doing on a toe?
Identification? And any thought on what it's doing on a toe?
demodex mite. usually nonpathogenic.
ReplyDeletePerhaps patient has limited use of hands and uses feet to scratch eyebrows/face?
Demodex folliculorum mite.
ReplyDeletePractically every adult has them, so you should never feel alone again!
Maybe the mite is on a holiday trip to the south?
Nice pictures!
ReplyDeleteDemodex folliculorum, nonpathogenic. It's presence in the toe is probably because the patient has some underlying condition which favors propagation of the mites. The mites themselves do not cause any skin conditions, but they have been (most probably) erroneously implicated in causing conditions like rosacea, etc. More likely, it's the skin condition which creates a favorable environment for the mite!
ReplyDeleteNice pictures of demodex ��
ReplyDelete