What is Contact Dermatitis?
Contact Dermatitis is another term for a topical skin allergy – a form of inflammation that can occur on your skin with prolonged contact to an allergen. For example, if you use a product that has an ingredient you’re allergic to, you could suffer from contact dermatitis.
Contact Dermatitis affects 20 to 40% of the world, and seems to be growing. Top causes include metals, fragrances, preservatives, adhesives/acrylates, hair dye, and many more, causing redness, scaliness/flakiness, swelling, dry patches, bumps, blisters, or even crusts in severe cases. We commonly see contact dermatitis on the face, as well the neck, chest, back, and hands. Unfortunately, these reactions can last weeks to months, even after the offending agent has been removed!
Treating and preventing Contact Dermatitis involves detecting the allergen and removing exposure, addressing the inflammation to allow the skin to heal, and using topical products as close to “sans-allergenic”as possible, ensuring you don’t have the same problem again.
