Intended for healthcare professionals

Comment: Continuing the learning curve

Neill Hepburn
I still feel nervous when asked to see neonates on the postnatal wards. Over 20 years ago, as a newly appointed Senior Registrar in Edinburgh, I was asked to come to see a newborn with blisters, on a Saturday afternoon. With thoughts of rare blistering conditions, such as epidermolysis bullosa (EB), on my mind, as I cycled into The Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh, I firmly counselled myself to remember more common conditions, such as bullous impetigo. When I saw the child I felt unsure, but, with more confidence than I felt, I took swabs for bacteriology and prescribed flucloxacillin. I promised to come back on Monday. You can imagine my consternation when the mother asked me if it might be EB!
Dermatology in practice 2012; 18(2): 3–3
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