ABSTRACT
When a dermatologist concludes that the cause of a patient’s allergic contact dermatitis (ACD) is a fabric dye, two major challenges follow: the fi rst is to assist the patient in identifying the offending textile product(s); the second is to provide directions so that he/she can avoid the purchase of skin contact textile products that will cause a recurrence of his/her ACD skin lesions. Explaining how to identify the offending product(s) and purchase textile products that will not cause a recurrence of skin lesions can be daunting because textile products are rarely labeled to reveal their colorants. The only fabric “ingredient” revealed on textile labels is fi ber content, information required by many countries including the United States, European Union countries, Japan, and South Korea.
