# Wood's Lamp Dermatology: Clinical Diagnosis & Fluorescence Chart

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## Standardized Clinical Protocol
- Room must be pitch-dark; clinician dark-adapts for 3–5 minutes.
- Wood's lamp (365 nm filtered) held 10–15 cm (4–6 in) from lesion.
- Skin unwashed for 24 hours prior; no topical creams or deodorants.

## Diagnostic Fluorescence Colors
1. Vitiligo: Stark chalky blue-white with sharp margins (absence of melanin exposes dermal collagen auto-fluorescence).
2. Tinea Capitis (Microsporum): Bright yellow-green along hair shafts (pteridine metabolite). Trichophyton tonsurans does NOT fluoresce.
3. Tinea Versicolor (Malassezia): Golden yellow / coppery orange (pityriacitrin).
4. Erythrasma (Corynebacterium minutissimum): Brilliant coral-red to pink-orange (coproporphyrin III). Prevents misdiagnosis as fungal jock itch.
5. Pseudomonas aeruginosa: Bright lime-green / yellow-green (pyoverdine siderophore). Early detection in burn wounds.
6. Acne (Cutibacterium acnes): Punctate follicular orange-red (protoporphyrin IX).
7. Melasma: Epidermal melasma darkens/accentuates under Wood's light; dermal melasma does not accentuate.
8. Porphyria Cutanea Tarda: Urine fluoresces vivid pink-orange to ruby-red under Wood's lamp.