A 3-year-old child presents with sweating, flushing of the cheeks and nose, pinkish maculopapular rash on palms and soles, marked irritability, insomnia, and profuse sweating of hands and feet. The father works in a thermometer factory. This syndrome is called:

• A Acrodynia ✓
• B Erythema multiforme
• C Kawasaki disease
• D Argyria

Explanation

Acrodynia, also called pink disease or Feer-Swift disease, is childhood chronic elemental mercury poisoning characterised by pink discoloured hands and feet, flushing of face and nose, sweating, photophobia, irritability, insomnia and pruritic rash, caused by hypersensitivity reaction to mercury. Kawasaki disease features fever and coronary arteritis, and argyria is silver deposition causing slate-grey skin, none of which fit this picture.

Reference: Parikh's Textbook of Medical Jurisprudence, Forensic Medicine and Toxicology, 7th ed.

High-yield for: NEET PGINI-CETNExTFMGEUSMLEPLABMRCP

Written and medically reviewed by the StethoPrep medical team.