Actinic prurigo, tropical (South-East Asian) variant

Actinic prurigo is a chronic familial photodermatitis found predominantly among the Amerindians. It has been reported from North and South America, Britain and Japan. We report a case of actinic prurigo seen in Singapore. A 20-year-old Malay female presented with a persistent pruriginous eruption in the sun-exposed parts and on her abdomen. She also had lower lip cheilitis and thinning of the outer eyebrows, features often seen in actinic prurigo. The minimal erythema dose to ultraviolet A (UVA) and UVB were persistently lowered. We propose that this condition be called actinic prurigo, tropical (South-East Asian) variant.