ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND The term ‘allergic vulvovaginitis’ is thought by some to be a misnomer, better labeled as an irritant dermatitis, for it often is a mucosal reaction, not confirmed by skin testing on cornified squamous skin. However, immunoglobulin E (IgE) has been found in the vaginal fluid of patients with those reactions1, and the term ‘allergic vulvovaginitis’ has been widely used to describe these patients. This is the terminology that will be employed in this chapter.
