Contact Dermatitis: symptomen en de behandeling

Contact dermatitis is a disease of the skin that has an irritatingly inflammatory nature.Most often, the main factor in the appearance of the pathology in question is any chemical that can get on the skin from cleaning / washing, clothes, air.The most powerful irritants are alkalis and acids, since these substances can cause a chemical burn on the skin.

If contact dermatitis is considered from a medical point of view, then this is an acute skin inflammation that develops on a clearly localized area of ​​the skin at the points of contact with the stimulus.This disease has no age and sex restrictions, but statistics is more likely to occur in women, which is associated with more frequent use of cosmetics, perfumes, cleaning / washing agents.

Contact dermatitis: the causes of

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In general, more than 100 substances have been identified in the course of studies of the disease in question, which may lead to its development. But physicians distinguish the most "popular" ones:

• solvents;
• chlorinated water;
• acid;
• household chemicals;
• alkali;
• plasters;
• various chemicals for working with metal;
• mechanical irritant.

For an example, you can mention the eczematic rashes on the hands of housewives and cleaners, a rash under a long ring, a rash in the form of rashes due to frequent and prolonged use of rubber gloves, abnormal skin changes after applying cosmetics.Very often it is possible to find a rash characteristic for contact dermatitis in the hands of people who work in the field of cooking and nutrition - this is affected by the constant effects of water and cleaning / washing agents.

Contact dermatitis, in principle, can occur for any reason.For example, the observed pathology occurs after exposure to the skin of cold air, and when wearing poorly rinsed laundry after washing( irritating factor in this case is washing powder or gel), and after contact with fiberglass( this is especially common in people of the construction profession).

Symptoms of contact dermatitis

This disease can occur in two forms - acute and chronic.In the first case, with the development of contact dermatitis, there will be a sudden appearance of reddening and infiltration of the skin in the zone of action of the irritating factor.

If it is a case of chronic dermatitis, its symptoms will be "blurred", appear from time to time - redness of certain areas of the skin, peeling, cracking and a slight swelling of the affected area.

Especially attentive to the condition of the skin should be treated by mothers - it is during childhood( and even in infancy and even more so!) Contact dermatitis can manifest suddenly and quickly turn into a chronic form of the flow.On the skin of the child there is a slight reddening, then this lesion can acquire a pronounced puffiness, the skin begins to "wet", or peel and crack.Children complain of itching and burning in places where contact dermatitis occurs.

Note: the clinical picture of the disease in question can be varied - it all depends on how strong the stimulus has affected the skin, how long this effect has lasted, what immunity is in the body and the other.

If the skin was exposed to a strong, powerful irritant, the symptoms may be as follows:

• redness;
• swelling;
• burning;
• mopping up bubbles and ulceration in the lesions.

But a mild irritant agent provokes less intense manifestations - dry skin, mild reddening, peeling, cracks.

How contact dermatitis

is diagnosed Despite the apparent simplicity and expressed symptoms, the disease under consideration requires careful attention, and not trivial "I will spread the cream and it will all go away."In order to choose the right treatment, to identify the true irritant and differentiate contact dermatitis from other skin diseases, you need to seek medical help.

First of all, the pathology of the skin of fungal origin is excluded - studies are conducted in hydroxide potassium solution.The next stage - the elimination of the pathology of skin allergic origin - is a patch test.Very often contact dermatitis is confused with neurodermatitis, scabies, eczema, and in fact the treatment of these diseases is strikingly different from therapy in the pathology under consideration!

The easiest way to distinguish between allergic and contact dermatitis: if the symptoms of irritation and inflammation do not have a clear localization, then it develops dermatitis of allergic origin.If the lesion has clear boundaries, it is still in the diagnostic area, patchwork tests are carried out - allergic dermatitis can also take place in this form, completely repeating the clinical picture of contact dermatitis.

Treatment of contact dermatitis

First and foremost, a dermatologist must determine the cause of contact dermatitis - the success of treatment depends on this.And here after that it is necessary to isolate the patient from the clarified irritating factor and start medication treatment.

General recommendations for isolating the patient:

1. To exclude or limit as much as possible the patient's contact with possible irritants - soap, cleaning and detergents.
2. To soften the skin, you can use medical Vaseline - it does not cause irritation, but as much as possible softens and moisturizes the skin even in affected areas.
3. In case of forced contact with any chemical substances( for example, this may be related to professional activity), the patient should perform all work in protective gloves.

Note: in many cases isolating a patient from an irritating factor can relieve contact dermatitis without the possibility of relapses.And in this case, drug therapy is not prescribed.

With contact dermatitis, doctors prefer to administer topical corticosteroids, and many of the ointments from this group of medicines have become most convenient and effective, for example, Lokoid, Advantan and Elidel.

Rules for the application of ointments for contact dermatitis:

1. The agent is applied to the affected skin areas once a day with a thin layer.Allowed easy massage.
2. Use of corticosteroid topical agents is necessary with pronounced symptoms of contact dermatitis - the inflamed areas are covered with blisters, and erosion occurs.
3. The course of treatment with such drugs is no more than 14 days, but usually doctors recommend using them until the symptoms disappear completely, and this can occur for 5-7 days of treatment.
4. Before you start treatment with a particular medicine, be sure to read the annotation - each drug has contraindications, use characteristics and side effects.

Contact dermatitis is an unpleasant disease that causes a lot of inconvenience and discomfort to a person.But there is nothing to worry about - it is enough to apply for help to doctors in time, to undergo diagnostic procedures and to fulfill all the prescriptions of a dermatologist in relation to treatment.

Yana Tsygankova, medical reviewer, therapeutist of the highest qualification category.