Symptomatic zinc deficiency in a one-year-old child precipitated by changing from formula to cow's milk

The case of a one-year-old girl with symptomatic zinc deficiency is presented. She had been mis-diagnosed as having impetigo and/or candidiasis and had been treated with topical antifungal agents and both oral and topical antibiotic agents without success during the four months before she presented. Zinc replacement led to rapid improvement. Her nutritional history suggests that weaning from formula to cow's milk precipitated her eruption. The clinical findings, differential diagnosis, and treatment of zinc deficiency are reviewed.