$Latex Allergy$

dermatitis

allergic contact dermatitis

Understand contact dermatitis, convenient allergen chart shows the most common substances that cause this skin condition and the parts of your body commonly affected, tips, treatment.

Allergic contact dermatitis is a skin allergy condition that occurs when external substances touch the skin. Symptoms usually occur within 30 minutes after exposure to an allergen. After contact with this normally harmless substance, inflammation occurs and symptoms such as redness, blisters, and scaling develop. The hands are involved in about 2/3 of contact dermatitis cases, since people come in contact with irritating substances at their jobs.

Unlike eczema, allergic contact dermatitis is a condition that affects people in their later stages of life, most likely because the condition does not occur upon first exposure to a substance. It usually takes numerous exposures for this skin condition to develop. Take nickel as an example. Only about two percent of girls under the age of ten are allergic to nickel. Compare that figure to women 50+, where the number of those affected rises to about fourteen percent.

The following table is designed to help you detect the most likely sources of this condition by isolating the parts of the body where your skin allergy symptoms appear:

TABLE OF POSSIBLE ALLERGENS

Possible Allergens in Allergic Contact Dermatitis
Body Area	Suspected Substance	Possible Allergen
Scalp	hair dye	P-phenylenediamine, phenol
Scalp	Topical Medicine	ethylenediamine dihydrochloride, lanolin alcohols
Scalp	shampoo	formaldehyde, phenol
Scalp	hair spray	phenol
Face	cosmetics	formaldehyde, diazolidinyl urea, Quaternium-15, benzyl alcohol, Glycerine, phenol
Face	topical medicines	Ethylenediamine dihydrochloride, lanolin alcohols
Face	shaving cream	glycerine
Face	after shave	phenol
Lips	lipstick	Carnauba wax, lanolin
Lips	toothpaste	Cinnamic aldehyde, fluoride, glycerine
Hands	jewelry	nickel
Hands	rubber gloves	mercaptobenzothiazole, latex
Hands	metals	Chromium, cobalt, copper, iron, nickel, mercury
Hands	lotions	glycerine, phenol
Ears	Earrings	nickel
Ears	earplugs	nickel
Ears	eyeglasses	nickel
Body	deodorant	phenol
Body	soap	formaldehyde, glycerine
Body	wrinkle-resistant clothes	formaldehyde
Body	clothing	P-phenylenediamine, phenol
Body	dyes	chromium
Body	elastic in clothes	latex
Body	medicines	Ethylenediamine dihydrochloride, lanolin alcohols
Body	perfumes	Cinnamic alcohol, cinnamic aldehyde, benzyl alcohol, ethanol, phenol, glycerine
Genital Area	contraceptive creams	formaldehyde, nonoxynol
Genital Area	condoms	latex
Feet	shoes	Colophony, (soles) latex
Feet	leather	Chromate, glycerine
Feet	powders	phenol
Feet	medicines	Ethylenediamine dihydrochloride, lanolin alcohols

what you can do about dermatitis

A first step in treating contact dermatitis is avoiding the substance causing your reaction so your skin can heal and the source allergen can be identified. Some measures to take for relief are as follows:

• Apply cool, damp compresses to areas of your skin that itch. Do not scratch them

• Thoroughly wash affected areas with lots of water (not hot water) to remove any trace of the irritant that may remain on the skin

• Use water that is tepid, not hot. Decrease the number of showers and baths you take

• Avoid soaps that can irritate your skin

• If your irritated areas become dry or chapped, use a low alcohol emollient such as Vaseline

• Refrain from using alcohol or medicinal lotions on your affected areas

Treatment

When treating this skin condition, doctors are likely to prescribe medicated creams and lotions. While these medicines can be very effective, they can also be the cause of further problems, since patients can have allergic reactions to ingredients in the medications.

Topical steroid cream or ointment - Hydrocortisone is a steroid medication available in topical and oral forms. The topical form helps to reduce the itching and swelling when skin allergy is limited to a small area.

Oral steroids or steroid injections -These drugs include prednisone, methylprednisolone, betamethasone, dexamethasone, triamcinolone and hydrocortisone.

Antihistamines - used to relieve the itching associated with this condition. Sedative antihistamines such as diphenhydramine and hydroxyzine can be taken at night to help patients sleep.

Oral antibiotics - For secondary infection.

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References

American College of Physicians. Common Allergies. New York, NY: Dorling Kindersley Limited, 2000.

Cook, Allan. Skin Disorders Sourcebook. Detroit, MI: Omnigraphics, Inc., 1997.

Krohn, Jacqueline. Allergy Relief & Prevention. Vancouver, B.C. : Hartley & Marks Publishers Inc., 2000.

Kwong, Frank & Cook, Bruce. The Complete Allergy Book. Naperville, Illinois: Sourcebooks, Inc., 2002.

Lipkowitz, Myron & Navarra, Tova. Allergies A-Z. New York, NY: Facts On File, Inc., 1994.

Reader’s Digest. The Allergy Bible. Pleasantville, NY: The Reader’s Digest Association, Inc., 2001.

Reader’s Digest. Fighting Allergies. Pleasantville, NY: The Reader’s Digest Association, Inc., 2000.

Ross, Linda. Allergies Sourcebook. Detroit, MI: Omnigraphics, Inc., 1997.

Turkington, Carol & Dover, Jeffrey. Skin Deep. New York, NY: Facts On File, Inc., 1996.

Young, Stuart, Dobozin, Bruce, & Miner, Margaret. Allergies: The Complete Guide to Diagnosis, Treatment, and Daily Management. Yonkers, NY: Consumer Reports Books, 1991.