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Treatment of post-inflammatory Hyperpigmentation (PIH) in Caucasians (For Professionals)

  • Post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation is located in the dermis. Wood’s lamp is useful to diffrentiate with other pigmentary disorders such as melasma (chloasma, pregnancy mask)
  • Causes include:
  1. infections
  2. allergies
  3. mechanical factors or trauma
  4. phototoxic and photoallergic (cosmetics) reactions
  5. inflammatory skin conditions (lichen planus, Systemic Lupus Eythematosus (SLE))

 

 

Treatment:

  • the condition is spontaneously resolutive over a few months
  • Sunprotection is advised (Physical sunscreens are better as they protect against all visible light)
  • Tretinoin can be used to treat post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation (but it can worsen the problem if it causes irritation):
  1. it is also used to treat Melasma and Lentigenes.
  2. Note that its action is to depigmentent pigmented skin and it will not depigment normal skin.

 

 

Source of Information: 2012 (09) – Placek W. 21st Annual Congress of the EADV (European Academy of Dermatology and Venerology) – Prague (Praha), Czech Republic (česká republika)

Original article: here