Diagnosis
A diagnosis of irritant contact dermatitis can often be made with the clinical presentation and a careful history.
Consider inquiring about:
Acute exposure caused by potent agents may be recognised by the distinct distribution, location, and time of onset of skin changes after exposure to the causative agent.
The following diagnostic criteria can be helpful in making a diagnosis –
| objective | ||
major | minor | major | minor |
onset - minutes to hours | onset <2 weeks | macular erythema, hyperkeratosis, or fissuring predominating over vesicular change | sharp circumspection of the dermis |
symptoms - pain, burning, stinging or discomfort exceeding itch | many people in the environment similarly affected | glazed, parched, or scalded appearance of the epidermis | evidence of gravitational influence, such as a dripping effect |
|
| the healing process proceeds without plateau upon withdrawal of exposure to substance in question | lack of tendency for spread of dermatitis |
|
| negative patch testing | vesicles juxtaposed closely to patches of erythema, erosions, bullae |
No specific number of criteria is necessary; however, the more criteria that exist, the stronger the diagnosis
Reference:
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