Skin Disease in Tropics: Impacted by Heat, Humidity, and Healthcare Neglect

The tropics are a warm equatorial zone that are rich in flora, fauna, diversity and resources and yet entrenched in poverty. Tropical skin diseases include those caused directly by the hot and humid environment such as miliaria and sweat dermatitis; and a predominance of preventable and controllable infections due to healthcare neglect, focus on Western models and lack of political initiative. These include common episodic infections such as periporitis, pyoderma, scabies, dermatophytosis; as well as infections peculiar to the tropics including cutaneous tuberculosis and the Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) that include cutaneous leishmaniasis, leprosy, filariasis, mycetoma and other subcutaneous mycoses. Tropical medicine offers the most heart-warming results when simple health measures are implemented, warranting global focus to transform these regions into flourishing, self-sufficient territories.