Contact Dermititis
Mental Health and Microbiome
27/11/2021
Fish Allergy
15/12/2021Contact Dermititis
Parentsย have asked me if a diagnosis of aย food allergyย can be made by placing the food on theย skin.โฃ
The answer is, not always.โฃ
Why is that?โฃ
Not all concentrations of the allergen can lead to a reaction.โฃ
- Some reactions might be due to a ๐๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ต๐ข๐ค๐ต ๐๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฎ๐ข๐ต๐ช๐ต๐ช๐ด.โฃ
ย
๐๐จ๐ง๐ญ๐๐๐ญ ๐๐๐ซ๐ฆ๐๐ญ๐ข๐ญ๐ข๐ฌย happens when a substance gets in contact with the skin, causing a localised reaction.โฃ
ย
It can be eitherย ๐ช๐ณ๐ณ๐ช๐ต๐ข๐ฏ๐ตย (80% of reactions) orย ๐ข๐ญ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ณ๐จ๐ช๐คย (20% of reactions), leading to different reactions.โฃ
ย
It affects people that deal with the substances frequently, though it can happen to anyone.โฃ
- Most commonly, it affects people working in theย ๐ค๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ฎ๐ช๐ค๐ข๐ญ,ย ๐ฑ๐ฉ๐ข๐ณ๐ฎ๐ข๐ค๐ฆ๐ถ๐ต๐ช๐ค๐ข๐ญย orย ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐ข๐ถ๐ต๐บ ๐ช๐ฏ๐ฅ๐ถ๐ด๐ต๐ณ๐บ.
- ๐๐ฆ๐ค๐ฉ๐ข๐ฏ๐ช๐ค๐ดย andย ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ข๐ญ๐ต๐ฉ๐ค๐ข๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ธ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฌ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ดย can also be affected.โฃ
Treatment starts with avoidance of contact with the substance causing the reaction.โฃ
Following this, the creams used are very similar to the ones used inย eczema.โฃ
It is not frequent the need for oral or intravenous medication.โฃ
How to make a diagnosis?โฃ
- It is fairly easy, as there is a good association between the contact and the onset of the reaction.โฃ
- In some cases, when there is a mix of chemicals,ย patch testingย can be used (I will speak about this in another post).โฃ
There is also a difference in signs.โฃ
- ๐๐ซ๐ซ๐ข๐ญ๐๐ง๐ญ:โฃ
- Blistersโฃ
- Dry skin leads to crackingโฃ
- Cracking leads to sores and crustsโฃ Swellingโฃ
ย
- ๐๐ฅ๐ฅ๐๐ซ๐ ๐ข๐:โฃ
- Hivesโฃ
- Itchingโฃ
- Red skinโฃ
- Dry and flaking skinโฃ
- Swelling, especially if affecting mucosasโฃ
ย
Nickel can give irritant andย allergic contact dermatitis.
ย
