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Review
. 2002 Aug;147(2):270-5.
doi: 10.1046/j.1365-2133.2002.04852.x.

Dermatitis caused by physical irritants

R Morris-Jones  1 , S J Robertson, J S Ross, I R White, J P McFadden, R J G Rycroft
Affiliations
Review

Dermatitis caused by physical irritants

R Morris-Jones et al. Br J Dermatol. 2002 Aug.

Abstract

Background: Although physical irritant contact dermatitis (PICD) is a common occupational dermatosis, it is one of the least well understood because of its multiple types, lack of diagnostic test, and the many mechanisms involved in its production.

Objectives: To characterize the materials and mechanisms of physical irritation of the skin.

Methods: We did a retrospective analysis over the past 20 years of all patients with a diagnosis of PICD at St John's Institute of Dermatology Contact Dermatitis Clinic.

Results: Of the 29,000 patients who attended the clinic over the study period, 392 patients were diagnosed with PICD and of these, 335 files were analysed.

Conclusions: Our findings show that PICD accounted for 1.15% of all patients attending the contact clinic over the study period. Diverse occupations and materials were implicated. The most common cause of PICD was low humidity due to air-conditioning, which caused dermatitis of the face and neck in office workers due to drying out of the skin.

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