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Contact dermatitis is one of the most common types of allergy not only in Brazil, but worldwide. And while it is not something extremely serious for health, it is also something that bothers many people and can prevent them from carrying out various tasks in their daily lives with complete freedom . Therefore, conducting a contact test, also called a patch test , can be important to help fight this allergy. Do you want to know more about this type of test and why is it so important? Read here in today’s text! But first, do you know exactly what contact dermatitis is?
What is Contact Dermatitis?
Among the types of skin allergy, contact dermatitis is the most common, accounting for about 80% of all known cases of skin allergies in general. Despite this, it is not always easy to discover the source of this problem , as there are several factors that can cause it to manifest.
As for the symptoms, the main ones presented by contact dermatitis are:
- Skin irritation
- Unremitting itch
- Reddish spots on different skin regions
- Substances found in our sweat
- Skin rashes that may or may not itch
- Blisters and crusts on the skin, in more severe cases
It is worth mentioning that contact dermatitis can appear in several regions of the body , such as on the hands, arms, armpits, belly, back, legs, feet and even on the neck and face, although the latter is less common.
Like most allergies, contact dermatitis does not pose a great danger to our health, but it must still be treated seriously so that it does not cause any problems in our life.
What Causes Contact Dermatitis?
As we said earlier, it is not always easy to identify the cause of contact dermatitis due to the diverse origins that our exaggerated response from the organism may have. However, it is possible to list some agents that tend to cause contact dermatitis more often. That way, it is easier for you to understand later how the patch test is done and why it is so important.
Some of the main agents that cause contact dermatitis are:
- Soaps
- Jewelry
- Acids
- Sweat itself
- Clothes and shoes
- Deodorants
- Make up
- Certain medications
- Insect bite
- Pollen
- Cleaning products
What is the Patch Test?
Before understanding exactly how the patch test is done, you need to know what it is and for what purposes it works. Also called a contact test or patch test, the patch test can be defined as a method used to determine whether a specific substance causes an allergic reaction to a person’s skin.
This type of test is commonly done with people who have what is called contact dermatitis and has as its essence the attempt to produce a small allergic reaction in a person’s body. This is because, as there are several possible causative agents, it helps to identify which one you are allergic to and, in this way, to start treatment in a more specific way.
How is the Patch Test done?
The patch test consists of a test in which stickers containing 30 different substances are glued to a person’s skin. For such adhesives to be placed, it is necessary that the skin is properly cleaned and defatted, as this can influence the tests.
After 48 hours, the test is removed from the patient’s skin and, after 30 minutes, the first reading is performed with the help of a special ruler that measures which parts of the skin reacted to the adhesive. After 96 hours of adhesive removal, another reading is performed.
From a meeting of the two readings, an allergist doctor can identify not only what substances a person is allergic to, but also how sensitive the body is to each of them. There are cases, for example, when a person has allergies to several agents, but in a mild way, which is not so serious. On the other hand, if the allergy is severe, it is important to follow the doctor’s guidelines for more specific treatment.
One of the big problems that occurs when we talk about allergy is precisely the lack of information that we have about the causative agent . It is for this reason also that often these allergies seem to arise out of nowhere and disappear in the same way. Therefore, tests like the patch test can be a great way to make it possible for a person to find out which agent is causing their allergy and significantly improve their life, since contact with such an agent can really be avoided. And when we get rid of problems like allergies, our quality of life tends to go up considerably.
My name is Dr. Alexis Hart I am 38 years old, I am the mother of 3 beautiful children! Different ages, different phases 16 years, 12 years and 7 years. In love with motherhood since always, I found it difficult to make my dreams come true, and also some more after I was already a mother.
Since I imagined myself as a mother, in my thoughts everything seemed to be much easier and simpler than it really was, I expected to get pregnant as soon as I wished, but it wasn’t that simple. The first pregnancy was smooth, but my daughter’s birth was very troubled. Joana was born in 2002 with a weight of 2930kg and 45cm, from a very peaceful cesarean delivery but she had already been born with congenital pneumonia due to a broken bag not treated with antibiotics even before delivery.
