Irritant Contact Eczema

Irritant contact eczema is similar to allergic contact eczema and is caused by frequent contact with everyday substances such as detergents in toiletries or cleaning products. Some of the main differences between an irritant and allergic contact eczema are:

An irritant will cause a reaction in everyone who comes in contact with it, while an allergen will trouble only those people with the greatest susceptibility for developing allergic reactions.

The skin effect from an irritant will be almost immediate – from stinging or burning to caustic burns. There will be no immediate effect from an allergen. The latter takes time to develop. When it does, itching is a prominent symptom.

An irritant contact eczema seldom manifests itself as red vesicles which combine to form moist patches.

Some of the materials known to potentially cause skin reactions are themselves components of common treatments for eczema (e.g. lanolin in moisturizers and hydrocortisone in steroid creams). Therefore, if the condition is worsening or proving resistant to treatment, it may be that the treatment itself is contributing to the skin problem.

As a rule, inflamed areas of skin tend to 'flare-up' from time to time, and then tend to settle down. The severity and duration of 'flare-ups' varies from person to person, and from time to time in the same person.