Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to C G Mathias.
Severe allergic contact dermatitis from a paint mildewcide, 2-n-octyl-4-isothiazolin-3-one, developed in a worker formulating latex paints within a paint manufacturing company, Guinea pig maximization testing demonstrated this to be a moderate sensitizer. Further cases of allergic contact dermatitis may be encountered as the use of this biocide increases in the market place.
A patient with multiple atopic allergies, atopic facial dermatitis, and a generalized atopic skin diathesis developed (i) angioedema of the lips and tongue following ingestion of peanut butter, and (ii) localized urticarial reactions following direct skin contact. Open testing with peanut butter demonstrated probable immunologic contact urticaria. The relationship of contact urticaria to the atopic skin diathesis is discussed.
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Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
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Two cases of contact dermatitis from electroplating solutions were attributed to irritation from cyanide salts. Both demonstrated similar clinical features. In neither could concomitant contact allergy to other constituents of the plating solutions be demonstrated. In one case, irritation could not be attributed to the alkalinity of the plating solution. Contact dermatitis from cyanide plating solutions may be associated with systemic symptoms, since cyanide is rapidly absorbed through the skin. Poor handling and hygiene techniques in the workplace should be corrected immediately.
Because large surface areas of the skin are exposed directly to the environment, skin is an organ particularly vulnerable to occupationally induced disease. Statistics show that, excluding accidental injury, nearly half of all occupational illnesses occur in this organ; a fourth of all workers suffering from occupational skin disease lose an average of 10 to 12 workdays. The constant evolution of new industrial chemicals and methods of manufacture continue to bring new skin hazards and disease into the workplace. Occupational health physicians and practitioners, who usually have minimal training in dermatology, must diagnose and treat unfamiliar diseases in a setting of even less familiar, often overwhelming, technology. A thorough understanding of cutaneous defense mechanisms, clinical patterns of occupational skin disease and methods for establishing accurate diagnoses is essential.
Transepidermal water loss (TEWL) was measured as a function of skin temperature, using human cadaver skin in modified skin diffusion chambers. A formula was derived to allow conversion of TEWL at any skin temperature to a standard reference temperature. This formula permits more accurate comparison of TEWL within and between subjects.
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Lip swelling developed following the use of a cinnamic aldehyde-containing mouthwash in a woman with allergic rhinitis and asthma. Open application of the mouthwash on the antecubital fossae of the patient and control subjects produced immediate erythematous or urticarial responses in all tested individuals. Subsequent investigation established cinnamic aldehyde as the responsible ingredient. The incidence of positive reactions was shown to depend on site of application, vehicle, concentration, and time of reading. Of several related cinnamates, only cinnamic acid produced easily detectable responses at similar concentrations.
A woman with atopic dermatitis experienced anaphylactic episodes following intercourse with her husband, with subsequent exacerbations of her atopic dermatitis. Skin testing and an in vitro leukocyte histamine release assay established the diagnosis of immediate hypersensitivity to her husband's seminal fluid; delayed hypersensitivity to seminal fluid could not be demonstrated. Antigen was found in the seminal fluid of nonrelated men. Radioallergosorbent testing detected the presence of circulating IgE antibodies specific for seminal plasma protein. Immunotherapy with seminal plasma may have limited the severity of a subsequent reaction. Serum from the husband and nonrelated men also contained antigen that provoked histamine release from the patient's leukocytes in vitro. The antigen in serum was associated with the globulin fraction and had a temporal relationship to ejaculation, appearing within 12 hours of ejaculation and disappearing within four days.
Perioral leukoderma simulating vitiligo developed in a 25-year-old woman. A patch test to cinnamic aldehyde was positive; depigmentation was observed at the patch test site three months after initial application. No changes in pigmentation occurred from a concomitant allergic patch test reaction to neomycin sulfate; only hyperpigmentation occurred at the site of an irritant patch test reaction to nonanoic acid. A toothpaste containing cinnamic aldehyde was implicated; perioral hypopigmentation resolved when a toothpaste without cinnamic aldehyde was substituted. A repeated patch test to cinnamic aldehyde again showed depigmentation at the patch test site three months after application.
A four-year-old girl in whom severe, acute contact dermatitis of the face developed following a face painting party is presented herein. Subsequent investigation established that the paints consisted of tempera pigments mixed in a full-strength commercial dishwashing liquid. Similar contact dermatitis developed in at least five other children, all of whom had continued to wear the face paints overnight while sleeping. The dishwashing liquid was implicated as the causative factor in the eruption. Since a full-strength commercial dishwashing detergent may cause severe irritant contact dermatitis in children, this product should be strongly discouraged as a vehicle for face paints.
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A laboratory technician developed allergic contact dermatitis to hydroxyethylmethacrylate associated with nausea, diarrhoea and persistent paresthesiae of the fingertips. The gastrointestinal symptoms were reproduced by patch testing. Hydroxyethylmethacrylate was demonstrated to pass through vinyl gloves. Cross reactions occurred to methyl-, ethyl-, propyl- and isopropylmethacrylate but not to butyl- or isobutylmethacrylate.