Patch testing to a textile dye mix by the international contact dermatitis research group.

BACKGROUND: Disperse dyes are well-known contact sensitizers not included in the majority of commercially available baseline series. OBJECTIVE: To investigate the outcome of patch testing to a textile dye mix (TDM) consisting of 8 disperse dyes. METHODS: Two thousand four hundred ninety-three consecutive dermatitis patients in 9 dermatology clinics were patch tested with a TDM 6.6%, consisting of Disperse (D) Blue 35, D Yellow 3, D Orange 1 and 3, D Red 1 and 17, all 1.0% each, and D Blue 106 and D Blue 124, each 0.3%. 90 reacted positively to the TDM. About 92.2% of the patients allergic to the TDM were also tested with the 8 separate dyes. RESULTS: Contact allergy to TDM was found in 3.6% (1.3-18.2) Simultaneous reactivity to p-phenylenediamine was found in 61.1% of the TDM-positive patients. Contact allergy to TDM and not to other p-amino-substituted sensitizers was diagnosed in 1.2%. The most frequent dye allergen in the TDM-positive patients was D Orange 3. CONCLUSIONS: Over 30% of the TDM allergic patients had been missed if only the international baseline series was tested. Contact allergy to TDM could explain or contribute to dermatitis in over 20% of the patients. Textile dye mix should be considered for inclusion into the international baseline series.

Allergic contact dermatitis from the vehicle components of topical pharmaceutical products.

The local application of pharmaceutical products may induce skin adverse reactions, including allergic contact dermatitis. Indeed, pharmaceutical products are, in general, applied on diseased or inflamed skin, the barrier function of which is often incapacitated, leading to enhanced skin penetration of the applied chemicals. Under these circumstances, even weak allergens are in such cases able to induce sensitization. The contact allergens in topical pharmaceutical products concern active principles and vehicle components, the latter of which are discussed in this article.