About Irritant Contact Dermatitis

The Villages ®, FL-based medical practitioner with over two decades of experience in the field, Dr. Thi Thien Nguyen Tran has served as medical director of Village Dermatology & Cosmetic Surgery since 2004. At his practice, Dr. Thi Thien Nguyen Tran treats patients with various skin conditions, including irritant contact dermatitis.

Irritant contact dermatitis is an inflammatory skin condition caused by toxic chemicals or metal ions that irritate the skin. Unlike certain other kinds of dermatitis, which are caused by an aberrant immunological response, irritant contact dermatitis is driven entirely by external stresses on the skin.

The skin becomes itchy, blistering, dry, and cracked as a result of contact dermatitis. Lighter skin can turn red, whereas darker skin can turn dark brown, purple, or grey. This reaction generally happens after a few hours or days of exposure to the irritant.

The skin will ultimately clear up if a patient can effectively avoid the irritants that cause their symptoms. However, because this is not always practicable, emollients (creams or lotions applied to the skin to keep it from drying out) or topical corticosteroids (skin-applied steroid ointments and lotions for symptoms alleviation) may be recommended by a doctor. A doctor may prescribe oral corticosteroids if a patient has a severe case of irritant contact dermatitis that covers a wide region of your skin, although this is uncommon.