Introduction

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Dermatologists use the terms "eczema" and "dermatitis" interchangeably to describe a varied pattern of inflammation which, when acute, is characterised by erythema and vesiculation, and, when chronic, by dryness, lichenification, and fissuring (fig 1). Contact dermatitis is the consequence of a pathological response to one or more external agents that may act either as irritants, where allergic T cell mechanisms are not involved, or as allergens, where cell mediated hypersensitivity initiates the proceedings. Many studies have shown that it is very difficult to distinguish allergic contact dermatitis from irritant and endogenous forms.¹

View larger version (111K): [in this window] [in a new window]   Figure 1   Contact dermatitis of the hands in a dental technician who wore rubber gloves during some of his work. He was found on patch testing to be allergic to the thiuram chemicals, found in rubber as accelerators.

Contact dermatitis is classified into a number of reaction patterns: acute irritant dermatitis is a severe eczematous reaction that results from a single overwhelming exposure, or a few brief exposures . . . [Full text of this article]

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