A severe irritant reaction to antiseptic bath emollient

Six weeks later, she presented to the hospital emergency department with areas of painful erythema, mainly affecting the flexures. There was patchy involvement elsewhere with brownish desquamation in places (see Fig. 1(a) and (b)). The whole appearance was markedly different from her initial presentation to her GP. The infected skin was not itchy, but painful. The erythema and pain had gradually increased during the previous few weeks. The discomfort was so severe that she was admitted for pain relief.