Glimpsis archive

Every past spot-the-sign image, with the answer, why it fits and a pearl. Newest first.

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12 past puzzles, up to Thursday 5 November 2026. Today’s and future puzzles are never shown here.

November 2026

  1. #12 · Thursday 5 November 2026 Medium

    A malnourished child's legs with bowed knees (genu varum).
    Source page by CDC · Public domain · via CDC Public Health Image Library

    Look at the legs

    A child with poor growth and little sunlight, who was slow to walk.

    Answer: Rickets

    Why: Bowed legs (genu varum) from soft, poorly mineralised growing bones.

    Pearl: Some bowing is normal in toddlers, but progressive or one-sided bowing needs a look. Rickets is making a comeback in children with dark skin, covering clothing or little sun.

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  2. #11 · Wednesday 4 November 2026 Medium

    Front of both shins with raised, red, tender-looking nodules.
    Source page by Dr. R. Huntington · Public domain · via CDC Public Health Image Library

    Tender shins

    A 27-year-old woman with painful red lumps on both shins, achy joints and a recent sore throat.

    Answer: Erythema nodosum

    Why: Tender, raised red nodules over both shins: inflammation of the fat beneath the skin (panniculitis).

    Pearl: Erythema nodosum with hilar lymphadenopathy is Löfgren's syndrome (sarcoidosis), which usually settles by itself. Check for strep, TB, IBD and medicines.

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  3. #10 · Tuesday 3 November 2026 Easy

    A band of clustered red papules and vesicles on the trunk following a single dermatome (T10–T11).
    Source page by CDC/K.L. Herrmann · Public domain · via CDC Public Health Image Library

    A painful stripe

    A 68-year-old with three days of burning pain on one side of the trunk, now with a rash in the same spot.

    Answer: Shingles (herpes zoster)

    Why: Clustered vesicles on red skin in a band following a single dermatome, on one side only.

    Pearl: Start antivirals within 72 hours of rash onset. Vesicles on the tip of the nose (Hutchinson's sign) mean the eye may be involved. A vaccine is available for older adults.

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  4. #9 · Monday 2 November 2026 Easy

    Close-up of skin with clear fluid-filled blisters on red bases and one crusted lesion.
    Source page by CDC/K.L. Herrmann · Public domain · via CDC Public Health Image Library

    Itchy spots, all over

    A 24-year-old childcare worker with a mild fever and an itchy rash that started on her trunk two days ago.

    Answer: Chickenpox (varicella)

    Why: Clear vesicles on red bases alongside crusted lesions: crops at different stages at the same time, the hallmark of varicella.

    Pearl: Lesions at different stages side by side means chickenpox; all at the same stage should make you think of smallpox or mpox. Adults and pregnant women get sicker, so antivirals matter more.

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  5. #8 · Sunday 1 November 2026 Genius

    Close view of a left eye with a keratinised, foamy-looking plaque on the conjunctiva.
    Source page by CDC · Public domain · via CDC Public Health Image Library

    Look at the eye

    A person in a famine-affected area with night blindness and dry eyes.

    Answer: Bitot's spots

    Why: A foamy, keratinised plaque on a dry conjunctiva.

    Pearl: Vitamin A deficiency is a leading cause of preventable blindness in children worldwide. Severe measles can tip a child into it, which is why vitamin A is part of measles treatment.

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October 2026

  1. #7 · Saturday 31 October 2026 Hard

    Inner side of an ankle with several purplish skin lesions.
    Source page by CDC/Dr Steve Kraus · Public domain · via CDC Public Health Image Library

    Purple marks

    A 41-year-old with weight loss, not previously tested for HIV, and painless purple patches on the leg.

    Answer: Kaposi sarcoma

    Why: Purple-brown patches and papules around the ankle and foot.

    Pearl: Kaposi sarcoma is an AIDS-defining illness and often improves with HIV treatment alone. It can also affect the mouth, gut and lungs.

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  2. #6 · Friday 30 October 2026 Hard

    Back of a hand with small papules in the web space between the index and middle fingers.
    Source page by CDC/J. Pledger · Public domain · via CDC Public Health Image Library

    Itchy at night

    Everyone in the household has had an intense itch for weeks, worst at night.

    Answer: Scabies

    Why: Small itchy papules in the finger web space, a favourite site for the burrowing mite.

    Pearl: Treat all close contacts at once and wash bedding. Itch can last a few weeks after successful treatment, so it's not necessarily failure.

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  3. #5 · Thursday 29 October 2026 Medium

    A patient's back covered in a raised red blotchy rash with merging lesions.
    Source page by CDC/Dr Heinz F. Eichenwald · Public domain · via CDC Public Health Image Library

    Look at the back

    An unvaccinated young person, five days into a fever with cough, runny nose and red eyes. The rash began on the face.

    Answer: Measles

    Why: A blotchy red maculopapular rash, merging into patches over the back.

    Pearl: Measles is one of the most contagious infections known. The rash starts behind the ears and on the face and moves down. Two doses of MMR protect about 97%.

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  4. #4 · Wednesday 28 October 2026 Medium

    Close intraoral view of the buccal mucosa with tiny bright red spots bearing pale centres.
    Source page by CDC/Dr Heinz F. Eichenwald · Public domain · via CDC Public Health Image Library

    Look inside the cheek

    An unvaccinated 22-year-old with three days of high fever, cough, runny nose and red eyes. No rash yet.

    Answer: Koplik spots

    Why: Tiny white-grey spots on red buccal mucosa, opposite the molars.

    Pearl: Koplik spots are pathognomonic of measles and appear before the rash, fading as it arrives. Measles is highly infectious, so notify public health and isolate.

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  5. #3 · Tuesday 27 October 2026 Easy

    A round, crusted ulcer with a raised rolled border on hairy forearm skin.
    Source page by CDC (cropped) · Public domain · via CDC Public Health Image Library

    The sore that won't heal

    A 34-year-old aid worker back from rural Afghanistan has a painless ulcer on her forearm. It started as a small bump where she was bitten by insects at dusk three months ago.

    Answer: Cutaneous leishmaniasis

    Why: A round, crusted ulcer with a raised, rolled border: the classic 'volcano' sore of cutaneous leishmaniasis.

    Pearl: Cutaneous leishmaniasis is one of the WHO's neglected tropical diseases, with hundreds of thousands of new cases a year. Many sores heal alone over months but leave scars; some species can later spread to the nose and mouth.

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  6. #2 · Monday 26 October 2026 Easy

    Both great toenails thickened and yellow-brown with streaks and crumbling free edges.
    Source page by CDC/ Dr. Edwin P. Ewing, Jr. · Public domain · via CDC Public Health Image Library

    Thick yellow nails

    A 67-year-old who swims at the local pool says his big toenails have slowly turned thick, yellow and crumbly.

    Answer: Onychomycosis (fungal nail infection)

    Why: Thick, yellow, streaky great toenails with crumbly debris lifting from the free edge.

    Pearl: Confirm with nail clippings for microscopy and culture before months of treatment: only about half of abnormal-looking nails are fungal. Psoriasis is the great mimic.

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  7. #1 · Sunday 25 October 2026 Genius

    Back of a child's hand and wrist covered in small red macules and petechiae.
    Source page by CDC · Public domain · via CDC Public Health Image Library

    A spotty wrist

    A child in North Carolina is feverish with headache and muscle aches, five days after a family camping trip. The rash started at the wrists and ankles.

    Answer: Rocky Mountain spotted fever

    Why: Small blanching macules turning petechial over the wrist and back of the hand: a centripetal spotted-fever rash.

    Pearl: Start doxycycline on suspicion, at any age: delays beyond day 5 sharply raise the death rate, and the classic triad of fever, rash and tick bite is present in only a minority at first. Related rickettsial spotted fevers occur worldwide.

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