Blister beetle dermatitis

Blister beetle dermatitis is a cutaneous condition that occurs after contact with any of several types of beetles, including those from the Meloidae and Oedemeridae families.^[1]:449 Blister beetles secrete an irritant called cantharidin, a vesicant that can get onto humans if they touch the beetles.

The term "blister beetle dermatitis" is also occasionally used as a synonym for Paederus dermatitis, a somewhat different dermatitis caused by contact with pederin, an irritant in the hemolymph of a different group of beetles, the rove beetles.^[2]

Symptoms

After skin comes in contact with cantharidin, local irritation begins within a few hours.^[3] (This is in contrast to Paederus dermatitis, where symptoms first appear 12–36 hours after contact with rove beetles.)^[4] Painful blisters appear, but scarring from these epidermal lesions is rare.^[5]

See also

• List of cutaneous conditions
• Skin lesion

References

1. ^ James, William D.; Berger, Timothy G.; et al. (2006). Andrews' Diseases of the Skin: clinical Dermatology. Saunders Elsevier. ISBN 0-7216-2921-0. 
2. ^ [1] 'Paederus dermatitis' by Gurcharan Singh and Syed Yousuf Ali, Indian Journal of Dermatology, Venereology and Leprology, Jan-Feb 2007
3. ^ "7.7 Blister beetles, clinical features". Institute of Tropical Medicine. http://www.itg.be/itg/distancelearning/lecturenotesvandenendene/52_Ectoparasitesp7.htm#T8. Retrieved 11 August 2011. "On skin contact with cantharidin-containing blister beetles, local tissue irritation occurs after a few hours. This results from the disruption of tonofilaments in the desmosomes with acantholysis and intra-epidermal blister formation." 
4. ^ "Just the facts…Paederus Beetles". US Army Public Health Command. http://phc.amedd.army.mil/PHC%20Resource%20Library/PaederusBeetleJan2010.pdf. Retrieved 30 July 2011. 
5. ^ Barceloux, Donald (2008). Medical toxicology of natural substances: foods, fungi, medicinal herbs, plants, and venomous animals. John Wiley and Sons. pp. 973. http://books.google.com/books?id=CpqzhHc072AC. 

External links

Research paper describing both blister beetle dermatitis and Paederus dermatitis, with photos of both