Overload
Contact dermititis
Category: Illness or disabilities
Type
Involuntary
Introduction and description
Contact dermatitis is a skin disease, and is caused by a reaction to a toxin, chemical or some other substance such as poison ivy, or a detergent, such as sodium lauryl sulfate, for example.
Where the reaction is somewhat delayed it is called an allergen, where it is almost immediate it is called an irritant.
Some substances act both as allergen and irritant (wet cement, for example). Other substances cause a problem after sunlight exposure. “About three quarters of cases of contact eczema are of the irritant type, which is the most common occupational skin disease. Contact eczema is curable, provided the offending substance can be avoided and its traces removed from one's environment.”
For more details on the symptoms, explicit causes and means of alleviation – see Eczema
