Contact Dermatitis

Contact dermatitis may be irritant or allergic in nature. Irritant contact dermatitis is inflammation of the skin which can be caused by direct contact with a chemical or irritant, which causes an immediate reaction. The changes of the skin include oozing, redness, swelling and itching followed by crusting and thickening. Irritant contact dermatitis must be differentiated from allergic contact dermatitis. Sometimes patch testing and further work-up is required.