Severe persistent urticaria following laser hair reduction

Abstract

Background Laser hair reduction is a common practice that utilized light‐based therapy to prevent future hair growth. Complications following laser hair reduction treatment include thermal burns, which may lead to hyper‐ or hypopigmentation, hair stimulation, scar, or transient erythema of treated areas. Aims Review reports of persistent urticaria following laser hair reduction and discuss a rarely discussed laser complication. Methods Pubmed literature review. Results There have been very rare reports of persistent urticaria following laser hair reduction. Similar case reports have also been described though no definitive reasoning for this reaction, nor consistent treatment has been documented. Discussion In this report, we present a patient who developed persistent urticaria with severe pruritus in the areas treated with laser hair reduction. Previous reports an association was found between allergies and post‐treatment urticarial eruption, with 33/36 patients having allergies, mostly to dust mites which is similar to the patient presented. Other etiologies such as reaction to cryogen and physical urticaria are unlikely. Conclusion Our report highlights a case of persistent urticaria with severe pruritus following laser hair reduction treatment, with both similarities and differences to other cases reported in the literature. While this is a rare side effect of laser hair removal, it should be monitored in patients who have a history of moderate to severe environmental allergies.