ABSTRACT
I. Introduction 478
II. Contact Allergy to Corticosteroids 479
A. Prevalence 479
B. Cross Reactions 479
C. Diagnostic Procedures 480
III. Corticosteroid Allergy in Hand Eczema 482
IV. Conclusions 482
References 482
I. INTRODUCTION
Awareness of contact sensitization to topical corticosteroids has improved markedly during recent years,1 and there is also evidence that the true prevalence of this condition has increased.2,3 Eczema patients are prone to develop contact allergy to topical medicaments, including corticosteroids, used in treatment of the disease. Hand eczema patients are not an exception, because hand eczema patients use corticosteroids as a major form of treatment, raising the susceptibility of sensitization to them. There is also a considerable number of hand eczema patients reported as having contact allergy to corticosteroids.