Study population: A total of 23 schools having 3581 students were visited, out of which 3367 students were covered and screened.

Inclusion criteria:

1. Adolescent students between 10-16 years of age,
2. who could understand
3. Adolescent girls who are willing to participate in the study.

Exclusion criteria:

1. Students who were not available for screening on the day of visit
2. Adolescent girls not willing to participate were excluded.

Data collection and scoring system: A brief history of skin symptoms and examination of skin, hair and nails were done in privacy under proper light. A clinical diagnosis based on history, physical examination was reached. Skin characteristics such as the severity of skin disease were recorded by the attended physician. A dermatology life quality index (DLQI) questionnaire was used to assess the effect of skin diseases on their quality of life [4]. The translated DLQI questionnaire was used for interviewing only 100 students who had skin diseases with significant lesions and who can answer the questionnaire. The questionnaire with only 9 questions was used as the 9^th question was removed in the questionnaire as asks for effect on sexual life.

Statistical analysis: The SPSS version 23 software was used to carry out statistical analysis relevant to the study. Descriptive statistics were used to represent demographic and clinical characteristics in the form of frequency and percentages. The distribution of skin diseases was analyzed by the chi-square test. A p-value of < 0.05 was considered statistically significant.

In 23 schools 3367 students between 10-16 years of age were covered and screened. Among the total cases 2,783 (82%) had skin diseases, of the 651(19%) had two or more than 2 skin diseases.

Table 1: Status of dermatoses in adolescent girls.

Skin diseases did not affect their work and school. Skin diseases in children may lead to considerable discomfort and embarrassment and unnecessary absence from school and workplace which delivers notable impact on psychosocial behaviour and quality of life [5]. The Present was designed to assess the burden, the pattern of skin diseases and their impact on their quality of life in adolescent school children. The results of this study showed that the most common skin diseases in these children are infections and infestations constituting 80% of all skin diseases. Staying in residential schools risk of transmission of skin infestations is more. Girls having long hair and infrequent hair wash could because increased incidence of pediculosis. As children have close contact with each other and share many things with other children scabies was even found to be very prevalent. Good hygienic practices by children reduce the transmission of scabies and pediculosis. Risk of recurrence even if treated due to lack of hygienic practices. A study by Sreedevi L et al. on the prevalence of infective dermatoses in the genital region in children of 1-18 years of age was noticed that 86.6% of cases had infective dermatoses. Among them 50.2% cases had parasitic infections, 26.5% had fungal infections and 19% had bacterial infections and 4% had viral infections [5]. A cross-sectional study by Suman Saurabh et al., to find the prevalence and pattern of skin infections among primary school children between 5-10 years of age included a total of 393 students and screened 306 students. Among the screened students 176 students had a single skin condition, 27 had two, 7 had three and 1 had four skin conditions with a prevalence of 69% cumulatively. Pediculosis (56.5%) was the commonest skin condition followed by pyoderma (7.1%) and scabies (3.9%) [6]. In the present study scabies was the second commonest cause could be due to close contact between students in residential schools. A cross-sectional study by Ruth Leekassa et al., estimate the prevalence of skin diseases in rural community Zeway in Ethiopia using a dermatological screening questionnaire (DSQ), where 4697 people were included, of these 992 (20%) were screened positive on DSQ. Out of 620 cases examined by the dermatologists, 611 cases (98.6%) were found to have more than one skin infection. Scabies was the commonest skin condition, followed by fungal infections [7].

Dermatophytosis, Verruca Vulgaris and pityriasis Alba were the commonest bacterial, viral and Eczema respectively [13]. A school-based survey in Uttar Pradesh, India to check the association between dermatological disorders and socioeconomic status found that Skin diseases in 42.3% of children. Among them 32.9% had only one skin condition, 11.3% had at least one transmissible skin disorder. Commonest skin disorder was p.alba (14.3%) followed pediculosis (6.5%). The prevalence of skin diseases especially transmissible increased significantly with decreased socioeconomic status. In this study all children socially backward class belonging to low socioeconomic status and associated with less hygienic practices. Dermatological conditions can result in psychological effects that seriously affect an individual lifestyle. More than a cosmetic nuisance, skin disease can produce anxiety, depression and other psychological problems that affect patients’ lives in ways comparable to arthritis or other disabling illnesses. The high visibility of skin diseases increases the likely hood of stigmatization. Skin diseases should be measured not only by symptoms, but also by physical, psychological and social parameters. The effect of skin diseases is considerable and unappreciated. Knowledge of mind-body interactions and interventions can help to improve patient’s skin conditions and ultimately their quality of life.

Skin diseases are common in children. Infections and infestations are very common in residential schools due to their poor hygenic practices. Reporting to hospital and taking treatment for skin conditions is less in those with poor socioeconomic status. Hence training of school teachers and PHC doctors regarding the management of common skin diseases and Health education to parents or guardians of children about Hygienic measures, sexual behaviour and need of seeking medical advice. Good hygiene practices like regular bathing, regular head wash, hand wash should be taught to children. All children should be treated for scabies at a time to avoid reinfection from others. Adolescence is the critical phase of life representing a transformation from childhood to uncertainties of adulthood. Hence these dermatological conditions are to be managed properly to prevent the adverse impact of visible dermatological manifestations and help them from losing their self-esteem.