ABSTRACT

In 1898, it was first appreciated that contact dermatitis had more than one mechanism: irritant and allergic. Most of this century’s investigations have focused on the latter. Recent interest in the former is documented in the 1995 textbooks.1,2,3 Irritation, or irritant dermatitis, previously considered a monomorphous process, is now understood to be a complex biologic syndrome, with a diverse pathophysiology, natural history, and clinical appearance. Thus, the clinical appearance of irritant contact dermatitis varies depending on multiple external and internal factors. The actual types, with reference to major characteristics in the clinical appearance, are listed in Table 1.