Contact allergic dermatitis "current topic in tropical dermatology"

Out of a total of 2,666 new dermatology patients, 128 (4.8%) were clinically diagnosed as allergic contact dermatitis. Of these, 107 (4%) reacted positively to different antigens in the patch-test. The commonest contact sensitizers among females were nickel and dyes. Among male patients, the commonest sensitizers were mecaptobenzol-thiazole, chrome and nickel. The incidence of occupational contact dermatitis among bricklayers, construction workers and builders were found to be low and the sensitization rate against chromate was 0.6%. There was no sensitization against cobalt and nickel in the group, however, the length of occupational contact with cement among these group was short. Allergic contact dermatitis is not as uncommon among the Nigeria populace as is generally believed. It seems to be on the increase especially with increase rate of industrialization.