Daily Health Care

What is contact dermatitis?

Contact dermatitis is the term given to the injury of the skin resulting from contact with a foreign substance. Occurs, most of the time, an inflammatory skin rash called eczema. There are basically two types of contact dermatitis: irritant and allergic the.

Irritant Contact Dermatitis

Irritant contact dermatitis is caused by the direct contact of an irritant to the skin. It is an irritant that causes an inflammatory reaction in most individuals when applied at the level needed for a sufficient amount of time.

Irritant dermatitis occurs more frequently in some jobs, such as hairdressing, cleaning, metal industries, construction workers and horticulture. Products such as soaps, detergents, food and cement can cause irritant dermatitis.

Both sexes are equally susceptible to irritant contact dermatitis. Susceptibility to irritants is very variable between individuals, people with atopic dry skin or develop it more often. The most frequent location of the dermatitis is the hands.

Allergic Contact Dermatitis

Allergic contact dermatitis accounts for between 5 and 15% of all skin diseases. In its pathogenesis, the cause of inflammation of the skin is a hypersensitivity reaction to a particular substance or group of related substances, cell-mediated immune defense.

Allergic contact dermatitis has the following characteristics:

- A previous exposure to the substance is needed to induce allergy.

- The reaction is specific to a product or group of similar products.

- All skin areas in contact with the substance that causes tend to develop eczema.

- Avoidance of the allergen will determine the resolution of the eczema.

The substance which can cause allergic contact dermatitis is known as an allergen. The most common allergens are metals, cosmetics, gums, plants, formaldehyde, skin medicines and chemicals as used in hairdressing. As in the irritative, allergic contact dermatitis is more common in atopic individuals.

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