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Challenges in Textile Contact Dermatitis

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Abstract

Purpose of Review

Patterns and causes of textile dermatitis change over time as manufacturing practices change.

Recent Findings

Reactions to occupation-related clothing and wearables other than clothing appear to constitute an increasing percentage of identified allergic textile reactions over the last two decades. This may be due to increased difficulty in diagnosing contact allergy to dyes and other chemicals in retail apparel that are poorly characterized in textile manufacturing. The most commonly used patch test screening series do not completely screen for causes of allergic contact dermatitis due to textiles.

Summary

Increased transparency between textile manufacturers and retailers and better labeling of dyes and finishes used in textiles would help guide more accurate diagnostic patch testing and better identification of alternative garments for patients with textile allergies.

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Data Availability

Data can be made available upon request to the author.

References

Papers of particular interest, published recently, have been highlighted as: • Of importance •• Of major importance

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, USA

    Susan Nedorost

  2. Dermatologists of the Central States, Columbus, OH, USA

    Susan Nedorost

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  1. Susan Nedorost
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Correspondence to Susan Nedorost.

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Ethical Approval

All reported studies (i.e., review of deidentified patch test database) with human subjects performed by the authors comply with all applicable ethical standards (including the Helsinki declaration and its amendments, institutional/national research committee standards, and international/national/institutional guidelines).

Conflict of Interest

The author has no financial or non-financial conflicts to declare that are relevant to the content of this article. The author is dermatology director for the New England Journal of Medicine Healer project. The author is an advisory board member for Pfizer.

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This article does not contain any studies with human or animal subjects performed by any of the authors.

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Nedorost, S. Challenges in Textile Contact Dermatitis. Curr Derm Rep 12, 1–7 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13671-023-00383-y

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