An "Abnormal" Hair Through the Dermoscope: Arthropod Body Part Mimicking a Hair.

A 20-year-old male patient presented to the dermatology outpatient department complaining of an abnormal, rough hair over his forearm of about 1-week duration. There was mild itching with no other significant symptoms. There was no history of any specific triggers, including insect bites. On clinical examination, the hair shaft appeared abnormal with surrounding hyperkeratotic appearance [Figure 1].

Figure 1

Macro image showing area of what the patient felt was an abnormal hair

Dermoscopy (polarized light, ×10, Dermlite foto pro II) showed that the “abnormal” hair was actually a foreign body [Figure 2]. The foreign body was extracted with a fine needle which appeared to be an arthropod part [Figure 3]. Unfortunately, the given part was not sufficient to identify the specific arthropod.

Figure 2

Dermoscopy showing the presence of a foreign body mimicking a hair – polarized light ×10 Dermlite foto pro II resized

Figure 3

Foreign body approximately 4 mm in size, extruded by needling

Dermoscopy has been described as a useful auxiliary tool in the diagnosis of arthropod parts such as stingers.[1] We present this case to highlight the usefulness of dermoscopy in effectively diagnosing foreign bodies related to insect parts in the skin.

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Conflicts of interest

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