Allergic contact dermatitis in children

The prevalence of allergic contact dermatitis seems underestimated. It is often confused with other types of dermatitis, such as atopic eczema. In fact, contact sensitisation may be found in 13.3- 24.5% of randomly selected children; moreover, at least half of the positive test results prove clinically significant. There are convincing data that sensitisation to common contact allergens may occur already in the first months of life - contact allergy may be more common among children under 3 years than in older children and adults.

Data from numerous studies show that contact allergy in children appears most commonly to nickel (15.9-18.0% in different study groups), thimerosal (11.3-37.5%), fragrances (4.4-19.2%), chromium (21.0%), ethylmercuric chloride (14.7-28.1%), cobalt (5.7-11.0%), neomycin (1.4-10.0%), rubber chemicals (6.5%), balsam of Peru (2.6-6.0%), and colophony (6.0%). This suggests that patch testing should be included into diagnostic routine in children with dermatitis.

Key words: alergic contact dermatitis, children, contact allergens, prevalence.

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