Case Presentation
An otherwise healthy 5-year-old girl presented during the summer with painful shiny erythematous patches and some blisters on the finger pads of both hands and on the palms of 1 week’s duration (Figure 1). On further questioning, her father mentioned that she had been playing and swimming all week in a swimming pool. A diagnosis of pool palms was made. Avoidance of the swimming pool for a couple of days was recommended. No further treatment was indicated.
Figure 1.
Pool palms. Shiny erythematous patches and some blisters on the finger pads of both hands and on the palms of a 5-yearold girl.
Teaching Point
Pool palms is a relatively frequent benign disorder, although scarcely described in the literature. It is a frictional dermatitis that affects the skin of the hands and feet after repeated contact with rough pool surfaces [1]. It is more frequent in childhood, probably because of children’s skin fragility and their tendency to rub against the pool surface when playing [2]. Cessation of the activity leads to rapid symptom resolution.
Footnotes
Funding: None.
Competing interests: The authors have no conflicts of interest to disclose.
Authorship: All authors have contributed significantly to this publication.
References
- 1.Wong LC, Rogers M. Pool palms. Pediatr Dermatol. 2007;24(1):95. doi: 10.1111/j.1525-1470.2007.00347.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 2.Novoa A, Klear S. Pool palms. Arch Dis Child. 2016;101(1):41. doi: 10.1136/archdischild-2015-309633. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]