Résumé
Background: Kumkum, made with turmeric and slaked lime along with colour enhancing dyes is known to cause allergic contact dermatitis. The possible contact allergens in kumkum include turmeric, Sudan-1, 4-aminoazobenzene, brilliant lake red R and cananga oil. We report patch test results among patients with suspected contact hypersensitivity to kumkum. Objective: To identify the allergen causing kumkum induced allergic contact dermatitis by patch testing and to advise patients about organic kumkum which doesnot contain colour enhancing dyes. Methods: Eighteen patients with suspected contact hypersensitivity to kumkum were patch tested with undiluted kumkum, undiluted turmeric, Sudan-1 (95%), 4-aminoazobenzene and allergens of the Indian Standard Series. Results: Of the 18 patients, 14 patients had patch test positivity to kumkum and 4 had a negative reaction to kumkum. Patch test with other suspected contact allergens showed positive reaction to turmeric in 4 patients, Sudan-1 in 3 patients and 4-aminoazobenzene in 2 patients. Among the allergens of the Indian Standard Series, positivity to nickel and fragrance mix was seen in 5 and 2 patients respectively. Positive reaction to PPD, chlorocresol and parthenium was seen in 1 patient each. Limitation: Small sample size. Conclusion: Allergic contact dermatitis to kumkum occurs both due to the dyes (added for enhancing the colour) and turmeric. All patients with suspected allergic contact dermatitis should be patch tested with kumkum, turmeric and dyes, based on which alternative non-allergic material could be advised. Kumkum dermatitis can also occur due to various other allergens, for which too patch testing should be done.
Résumé
Background Patch test is the standard investigation for diagnosis of allergic contact dermatitis (ACD). It throws light on causative allergens responsible for ACD, thereby assisting the physician in advising and treating the patient. Aim To report the results of patch test in 100 patients of ACD conducted at a tertiary health centre. Results A total of 100 ACD patients (49 females, 51 males) was patch tested, out of which 53 showed positive results (27 females, 26 males). Most common allergens observed in our study are fragrance mix (FM) (15.5%), parthenium (12.4%), nickel sulphate (10.8%), potassium bichromate (10.07%) and paraphenylenediamine (9.3%). Among males parthenium bichromate and among females FM were the commonest allergens. Commonest clinical patterns observed were localised eczema (22%), kumkum dermatitis (21%) and hand eczema (21%). Conclusion The increased incidence of hair dye dermatitis and kumkum dermatitis heralds the need for more studies to identify the specific allergens causing ACD and including them in Indian Standard Series.