Cosmetic and personal care chemicals responsible for most hand eczema in children and adults

A Spanish study aiming to find out the prevalence of hand eczema in children and to determine the main allergens behind the prevalence have found that chemicals found in personal care and cosmetic products cause most reaction. Of 11729 people tested (480 of whom were children), eczema was present in 23% of children and 30% of adults. Of the children with hand eczema, nearly 47% had at least one positive reaction in the patch tests.

The most common allergens were methylchloroisothiazolinone/ methylisothiazolinone, nickel sulphate and fragrance mix I. Allergic contact dermatitis was the most frequent diagnosis, followed by atopic dermatitis. The scientists who carried out the study recommended that patch testing be carried out on all children with chronic hand eczema, as is already performed on adults.

Source: PubMed

June 2011

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