Disease: Contact dermatitis

Contact dermatitis

Almost everyone gets this type of eczema at least once. We get contact dermatitis when something that our skin touches causes a rash. Some rashes happen immediately. Most take time to appear.

Allergic contact dermatitis

Some people have an allergic skin reaction. You have had this type of contact dermatitis if you had a rash caused by:
  • Poison ivy
  • Makeup you applied once or few times
  • Jewelry you wore for a long time without a reaction, such as a wedding ring
  • Jewelry you wore for only a few hours or days
  • Latex gloves

Irritant contact dermatitis

This type is more common. It develops when something irritates the skin. With enough contact, most things will irritate our skin. A person diagnosed with any of the following has irritant contact dermatitis:
  • Diaper rash
  • Acid burn
  • Dry, cracked hands due to lots of contact with water
  • Irritated skin around the mouth due to lip licking
When a toxic substance touches our skin, the skin is quickly irritated. You’ve had irritant contact dermatitis if your skin reacted to a toxic substance like:
  • Battery acid
  • Bleach
  • Pepper spray
You can also develop irritant contact dermatitis when you have lots of contact with less irritating substances like:
  • Water
  • Foods
  • Soap
People often develop irritant contact dermatitis at work. Beauticians, nurses, bartenders, and others who spend lots of time with wet hands get this. It often starts with dry, cracked hands. In time, the skin on their hands may begin to sting and burn. The skin becomes very tender. Sometimes, the skin itches and bleeds.

When a rash does not clear within a few weeks, you should see a dermatologist.When contact dermatitis develops, treatment is important. It can prevent the contact dermatitis from worsening and help your skin heal.

Source: https://www.aad.org

Signs and symptoms

When to seek immediate medical care

A few people develop a severe allergic reaction known as anaphylaxis (an-uh-fuh-lax-sis). Symptoms occur within seconds or minutes. A person may have:

  • Difficulty breathing due to swelling in the throat
  • Swollen face and/or eyes
  • Confusion

In short, the entire body reacts. If you have any of these symptoms, you need immediate medical care.

Allergic contact dermatitis

This skin condition occurs when you have an allergic reaction to something that comes in contact with your skin.

Signs and symptoms rarely appear on contact. It may take a few hours for your skin to react. If this is your first time that your skin has an allergic reaction to that substance, weeks may pass before you notice anything.

When signs and symptoms appear, you may have:

  • Itchy skin (often intense)
  • Rash (skin red, swollen, and hot)
  • Excessively dry skin
  • Burning
  • Stinging
  • Hives (round welts on the skin that itch intensely)
  • Fluid-filled blisters
  • Oozing blisters that leave crusts and scales

If exposure to the allergen continues, your skin may:

  • Flake and crack
  • Become scaly
  • Darken, thicken, and feel leathery

Irritant contact dermatitis

Many substances can irritate our skin. Soap, shampoo, food, and water are mild irritants. With lots of exposure, these can cause irritant contact dermatitis. Getting a strong irritant like battery acid or fiberglass on your skin just once also can cause irritant contact dermatitis.

The signs and symptoms differ for mild and strong irritants.

Mild irritant: The signs and symptoms develop over time. You’ll gradually notice:

  • Dry, chapped skin.
  • With repeat exposure, patches of itchy, red, swollen, and scaly skin develop. By this time, each time something that can irritate the skin touches the affected skin, you may feel stinging and burning right away.
  • If exposure continues, the skin may crack, get scaly, and become excessive dry.
  • Sores and blisters may develop and erupt, causing crusts and scales.
The face, neck, and hands are most susceptible to irritant contact dermatitis.Strong irritant: On contact or within a few hours, the skin can:

  • Burn, sting, and/or itch
  • Become inflamed (red and swollen)
  • Develop fluid-filled blisters

When you have irritant contact dermatitis, many things can irritate your skin. You may feel pain on contact. With repeat exposure, the condition worsens.

Reduced quality of life

This skin condition often affects a person’s quality of life. The rash can make many daily activities painful, especially when the rash forms on the hands. The rash can cause:
  • Missed work days
  • Inability to enjoy leisure activities
  • Loss of sleep

Some people are more likely to develop contact dermatitis. You can find out whether you have an increased risk by reading Contact dermatitis: Who gets and causes.

Source: https://www.aad.org

Who gets and causes

Who gets contact dermatitis?

Anyone can develop contact dermatitis. People working in certain professions have a higher risk. In fact, this is so common that your doctor may tell you that you have occupational dermatitis.

People who are more likely to get occupational dermatitis include:

  • Nurses (and other health care workers)
  • Beauticians
  • Bartenders
  • Chefs (and others who work with food)
  • Florists (and others who work with plants)
  • Construction workers
  • Janitors
  • Mechanics
  • Plumbers

Nurses and beauticians often develop dry, cracked skin on their palms and fingers. Wearing latex gloves frequently throughout the day causes some people to develop an allergy to latex. A common sign of this allergy is itchy, inflamed hands.

You also have a greater risk of developing contact dermatitis if you have (or had) one of these medical conditions:
  • Asthma
  • Hay fever
  • Atopic dermatitis (often called eczema)

Your environment also plays a role. Extreme heat or cold, high humidity, and very dry air make the skin more vulnerable.

What causes contact dermatitis?

A person develops contact dermatitis when something that touches the skin does one of the following:
  • Irritates the skin
  • Causes an allergic reaction

When the skin is irritated, a person develops irritant contact dermatitis. Anyone can develop this type of contact dermatitis. It happens when something damages the outer layers of skin.

Almost any chemical, including water, can damage the skin with enough contact. Toxic substances like fiberglass and turpentine quickly damage the skin. Many people develop irritant contact dermatitis when they work with hair dyes, solvents, oils, paints, varnishes, foods, or metalworking fluids.

An allergic reaction causes allergic contact dermatitis. People develop allergic reactions to many substances. Some of the most common causes of allergic contact dermatitis are:

  • Poison ivy
  • Nickel (used in cell phones, jewelry, eyeglass frames, zippers, belt buckles)
  • Nail cosmetics: Nail polish, adhesives
  • Fragrances
  • Latex
  • Cement

Many people touch a substance for years before an allergy develops.

Sometimes a trigger is needed for an allergic reaction to occur. Allergic contact dermatitis may only occur when the skin:

  • Sweats
  • Has ultraviolet rays (sun, tanning bed) hit it

More than 3,600 substances can cause allergic contact dermatitis. These substances include preservatives in cosmetics, antibiotics applied to the skin, animal dander, dyes in clothing and shoes, and rubber.

With thousands of causes, successfully treating this skin condition can take a bit of detective work. Dermatologists frequently treat this condition. In fact, this is one of the most common reasons to see a dermatologist.

To learn more about treatment, read Contact dermatitis: Diagnosis, treatment, and outcome.

Source: https://www.aad.org

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