TEXTILE DYE DERMATITIS

The literature concerning textile dye dermatitis published during the last decade was reviewed. Sixty-one cases of dye-allergic contact dermatitis in which the presentation or course of the dermatitis was unusual or the dye allergen was one not previously reported have been described. The four new dye allergens discovered were Disperse Blue 106, Disperse Blue 85, Disperse Brown 1, and Basic Red 46. The incidence of dye dermatitis varied from 1% to 15.9% depending on the country, patient sample, and number of dyes in the patch test series. The 10 new dye allergens discovered in these studies were Disperse Blue 153, Disperse Orange 13, Basic Black 1, Basic Brown 1, the acid dyes Supramine Yellow and Supramine Red, the direct dye Diazol Orange, the basic dye Brilliant Green, Turquoise Reactive, and Neutrichrome Red. Disperse Blue 106 and Disperse Blue 124 were shown to be the strongest clothing dye sensitizers to date. Standard screening patch test series were found to be inadequate for the detection of textile dye sensitivity; therefore textile dye patch test series should be used. It is difficult to determine whether the incidence of dye dermatitis is increasing or decreasing because controlled epidemiologic studies are lacking, but data suggest that textile dye sensitivity is more common than previously believed.