Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2021 May 27;7(1):38.
doi: 10.1038/s41572-021-00271-4.

Contact dermatitis

Pamela L Scheinman  1 , Marc Vocanson  2 , Jacob P Thyssen  3 , Jeanne Duus Johansen  3 , Rosemary L Nixon  4 , Kate Dear  4 , Nina C Botto  5 , Johanna Morot  2 , Ari M Goldminz  6
Affiliations
Review

Contact dermatitis

Pamela L Scheinman et al. Nat Rev Dis Primers. .

Abstract

Contact dermatitis (CD) is among the most common inflammatory dermatological conditions and includes allergic CD, photoallergic CD, irritant CD, photoirritant CD (also called phototoxic CD) and protein CD. Occupational CD can be of any type and is the most prevalent occupational skin disease. Each CD type is characterized by different immunological mechanisms and/or requisite exposures. Clinical manifestations of CD vary widely and multiple subtypes may occur simultaneously. The diagnosis relies on clinical presentation, thorough exposure assessment and evaluation with techniques such as patch testing and skin-prick testing. Management is based on patient education, avoidance strategies of specific substances, and topical treatments; in severe or recalcitrant cases, which can negatively affect the quality of life of patients, systemic medications may be needed.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. Alinaghi, F., Bennike, N. H., Egeberg, A., Thyssen, J. P. & Johansen, J. D. Prevalence of contact allergy in the general population: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Contact Dermatitis 80, 77–85 (2019). This review and meta-analysis provides extensive information on contact allergy prevalence in the general population, including data from 28 studies between 2007 and 2017, and over 20,000 individuals from multiple continents who underwent patch testing. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Diepgen, T. L. et al. Prevalence of contact allergy in the general population in different European regions. Br. J. Dermatol. 174, 319–329 (2016). - DOI - PubMed
    1. Bains, S. N., Nash, P. & Fonacier, L. Irritant contact dermatitis. Clin. Rev. Allergy Immunol. 56, 99–109 (2019). - DOI - PubMed
    1. DeKoven, J. G. et al. North American Contact dermatitis group patch test results: 2015-2016. Dermatitis 29, 297–309 (2018). - DOI - PubMed
    1. Zug, K. A. et al. Patch testing in children from 2005 to 2012: results from the North American contact dermatitis group. Dermatitis 25, 345–355 (2014). - DOI - PubMed

MeSH terms

LinkOut - more resources