Environmental Causes of Dermatitis

Jannett Nguyen; Jennifer K Chen

doi:10.1016/j.iac.2021.04.002

Environmental Causes of Dermatitis

Immunol Allergy Clin North Am. 2021 Aug;41(3):375-392. doi: 10.1016/j.iac.2021.04.002. Epub 2021 Jun 5.

Authors

Jannett Nguyen¹, Jennifer K Chen²

Affiliations

¹ Department of Dermatology, Stanford University School of Medicine, 450 Broadway Street, Pavilion C, 2nd Floor, Redwood City, CA 94063, USA.
² Department of Dermatology, Stanford University School of Medicine, 450 Broadway Street, Pavilion C, 2nd Floor, Redwood City, CA 94063, USA. Electronic address: jenniferkchen@stanford.edu.

PMID: 34225895
DOI: 10.1016/j.iac.2021.04.002

Abstract

Environmental, or exogenous, dermatitis is comprised of irritant and allergic contact dermatitis, which account for 80% and 20% of cases of contact dermatitis, respectively. Contact dermatitis is extremely common, and failure to diagnose this entity may result in overlooking a potentially curable driver of disease. In this review, we describe how clinical features, such as morphology or history, can assist in distinguishing exogenous from endogenous causes of dermatitis, and allergic from irritant contact dermatitis. Additionally, we provide an overview of common contact allergens and how dermatitis distribution can suggest possible culprit allergens. Patch testing is needed to confirm contact allergy.

Keywords: Allergic contact dermatitis; Environmental dermatitis; Exogenous dermatitis; Regional dermatitis; Skin allergens.

Publication types

Review

MeSH terms

Allergens
Dermatitis, Allergic Contact* / diagnosis
Dermatitis, Allergic Contact* / etiology
Dermatitis, Irritant* / diagnosis
Dermatitis, Irritant* / etiology
Humans
Patch Tests

Substances

Allergens