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| CLINICAL IMAGE |
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| Year : 2022 | Volume
: 15
| Issue : 3 | Page : 417-418 |
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Nairobi eye – “Wake and see” disease
Anusuya Sadhasivamohan, Vijayasankar Palaniappan, Kaliaperumal Karthikeyan
Department of Dermatology, Venereology and Leprosy, Sri Manakula Vinayagar Medical College and Hospital, Puducherry, India
| Date of Submission | 10-May-2021 |
| Date of Decision | 17-Jul-2021 |
| Date of Acceptance | 03-Aug-2021 |
| Date of Web Publication | 02-Nov-2022 |
Correspondence Address:
Kaliaperumal Karthikeyan
Department of Dermatology, Venereology and Leprosy, Sri Manakula Vinayagar Medical College and Hospital, Puducherry - 605 107
India
 Source of Support: None, Conflict of Interest: None  | Check |
DOI: 10.4103/ojo.ojo_145_21
 Abstract | | |
Keywords: Nairobi eye, night burn, Paederus
How to cite this article:
Sadhasivamohan A, Palaniappan V, Karthikeyan K. Nairobi eye – “Wake and see” disease. Oman J Ophthalmol 2022;15:417-8 |
A 36-year-old South Indian female presented with bilateral eyelid and periorbital swelling with pustulation for 1 day duration [Figure 1]a and [Figure 1]b. She had noticed the lesions immediately after waking up in the morning, associated with severe burning sensation and itching over the site. The patient revealed that she had travelled to her farmhouse the day before, where she noticed several black and bright red beetles [Figure 2]. There was no visual disturbance. Her conjunctiva was not congested and cornea was clear. | Figure 1: Evolution of the lesion. (a) (Day 1), (b) (day 2): Bilateral periorbital edema and erythema with pustulation. (c) (Day 5): Resolving lesion with crust. (d) (Day 10): Lesions healed with post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation.
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The characteristic morphology of skin lesions, regional prevalence and identification of the insect helped us in diagnosing this case as periocular Paederus dermatitis (Nairobi eye), as per the criteria given by Karthikeyan and Kumar.[1] She was managed with cold compresses, oral cefixime, antihistamines and analgesics for 5 days with topical mometasone-fusidic acid cream for 7 days. She was continuously followed up to watch for any complications. The lesions resolved with mild hyperpigmentation over 10 days [Figure 1]c and [Figure 1]d.
| Discussion | |  |
The Paederus beetles (Family: Staphylidinae, Order: Coleoptera) are nocturnal predators attracted to bright lights, commonly seen in humid tropical and subtropical areas. The accidental crushing of the beetle releases its coelomic fluid, which contains the vesicant paederin. This results in an acute irritant contact dermatitis. Owing to their nocturnal nature, the lesions are usually noticed on awakening in the morning, hence also termed “night burn” or “wake and see” disease.[1],[2] The most common presentation is linear erythematous plaque with overlying papulovesicular eruptions in the exposed sites accompanied by itching and burning sensation.[3] This is followed by a stage of crusting and desquamation.
Keratoconjunctivitis or periorbital dermatitis due to Paederus beetle is popularly called as “Nairobi eye.”[1] The ocular involvement is usually unilateral in nature.[4] The eyes being an exposed part during sleep, and presence of rugosities, make periorbital area prone to deposition of pederin.[3] The periocular lesion can be either due to the direct contact of the toxin or by accidental transfer through fingers from elsewhere on the skin.[1] The toxin, being a weak base, cannot penetrate the cornea and conjunctiva and hence the damage is limited.[4] Iritis and keratitis may occur secondary to mechanical trauma when a beetle hits the eye with force. The other complications include post-inflammatory hyper pigmentation and temporary blindness. Lesions over the conjunctiva and eyelid heal in about 10 days to 2 weeks, whereas corneal involvement can take up to 50 days for complete healing.[1]
The diagnosis is mostly based on clinical grounds due to the typical presentation. The differential diagnosis to be considered are herpes simplex, herpes zoster ophthalmicus, impetigo, acute allergic or irritant contact dermatitis, millipede dermatitis, phytophotodermatitis, preseptal cellulitis, and dermatitis artefacta.[3],[4] Immediate washing of the contact area with soap and water, wet compresses and topical steroids forms the mainstay of treatment.[1]
The uniqueness in our case is the unusual bilateral presentation of Nairobi eye. Lack of awareness remains a hurdle in curbing this disease, which can lead to severe morbidity if left untreated.
Acknowledgment
We would like to thank Prof. Sathiah, Professor and Head, Department of Agricultural Entomology, TNAU, Coimbatore, and his research scholars, for helping with the Paederus beetle image.
Declaration of patient consent
The authors certify that they have obtained all appropriate patient consent forms. In the form the patient(s) has/have given his/her/their consent for his/her/their images and other clinical information to be reported in the journal. The patients understand that their names and initials will not be published and due efforts will be made to conceal their identity, but anonymity cannot be guaranteed.
Financial support and sponsorship
Nil.
Conflicts of interest
There are no conflicts of interest.
| References | | |
| 1. | Karthikeyan K, Kumar A. Paederus dermatitis. Indian J Dermatol Venereol Leprol 2017;83:424-31.  [ PUBMED] [Full text] |
| 2. | Vijayasankar P, Gopinath H, Karthikeyan K. Kissing lesions in paederus dermatitis. Am J Trop Med Hyg 2019;101:5. |
| 3. | KC S, Mishra A, KC D, Karn D. Nairobi Eye: A clinicoepidemiological study from a tertiary care center of central Nepal. J Lumbini Med Coll 2020;8:190-4. |
| 4. | Verma S, Gupta S. Ocular manifestations due to econda (Paederus sabaeus). Med J Armed Forces India 2012;68:245-8. |
[Figure 1], [Figure 2]
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