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Allergic dermatitis is better known as alergic contact
dermatitis. It is the itchy skin condition usually caused by
the allergic reaction to the material that comes in contact
with the skin. The reaction takes place after a few hours of
actual contact with the particular material and vanishes
after several days if the skin does not remain in its
contact anymore.
Causes: The most widely known causes of alergic contact
dermatitis may include: plants of the Rhus genus, poison
ivy, poison oak and poison sumac especially in North
America. However, common causes of such allergic reactions
are highly alkaline soaps, nickel, detergents and some
cleaning products.
Types: Basically there are three types of alergic contact
dermatitis, such as: irritant contact, allergic contact and
photo-contact dermatitis. The photo-contact dermatitis is
further classified into a couple of categories, like
phototoxic and photo-alergic.
Symptoms: Allergic contact dermatitis is mostly found to be
affecting the only skin area where it has actually contacted
the allergen, but in case of irritant dermatitis, it may
also spread on the other areas of the skin. The common
symptoms include: red rashes, blisters or welts, itchy &
burning skin.
Treatments: Basically there may be two different types of
treatments like: home treatment and medical treatment.
Preliminary precautionary measures like washing the affected
area with medicated soap and cool water removing the
offending substances, applying the calamine lotion and
taking oral medications like antihistamines. Medical
treatment involves visit to the dermatologist who may
prescribe corticosteroids and antihistamines to be taken for
several days.
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