Dermatoses among Children from Celebration of “Holi,” the Spring Festival, in India: A Cross-sectional Observational Study

BACKGROUND "Holi" is a spring festival celebrated primarily in the Indian subcontinent and also abroad by expatriate Indians. It is a festival of colors, traditionally celebrated by mutual application of colors in different forms on a particular day of the year. These colors frequently comprise a range of synthetic dyes which have harmful effects on the skin and mucosae. Children take part in this colorful festival with much enthusiasm and vigor, making them prone to develop different "Holi"-related dermatoses. Our objective was to find out the different patterns of "Holi"-related dermatoses in a group of pediatric patients. METHODOLOGY This was a cross-sectional descriptive study carried out over a period of 6 years (2010-2015). Consecutive patients of pediatric age group who attended dermatology outpatient department (OPD) with different dermatoses following application of "Holi" color were included in this study. RESULTS A total of 63 patients (mean age 11 years; range 1-16 years) were evaluated with a female to male ratio of 1.3:1. Itching is the predominant presenting symptom followed by burning sensation, dryness, scaling, oozing, and loss of hair. Examination revealed that eczematous lesion was the most common (69.8%) reaction pattern followed by xerosis, desquamation, excoriation, erythema, morbilliform eruption, erosion, alopecia, ulceration, acute paronychia, and hyperpigmentation. The face was the most common (76.4%) site of affection. CONCLUSION A sizable number of patients of pediatric age group may be affected by "Holi"-related dermatoses necessitating precautionary measures.