Early Description of Diet-Induced Blistering Skin Diseases in Medieval Persia: Avicenna's Point of View.

Pemphigus is an autoimmune blistering skin disease that is strongly associated with different environmental factors. Among these, nutritional factors are considered to trigger pemphigus; however, their role may be underestimated. Investigated more recently in conventional medicine, this causative bond between dietary factors and blistering skin diseases was mentioned by Persian scholars such as Avicenna a thousand years ago. Avicenna, a well-known Persian physician and philosopher, who could be considered a pioneer in dermatology, discussed skin diseases in a chapter in The Canon of Medicine. He accounted for some nutritional triggers for skin blisters (mentioned as "hot swellings"), such as onion, garlic, leek, pepper, and wine. His precise description of causative factors based on principles of traditional Persian medicine (TPM) is appreciable and might well lead us to find more efficient ways for the prevention and treatment of blistering skin diseases.