What is "contact dermatitis"?

What is "contact dermatitis"?

Harold Kaiser (Practicing Allergist and Clinical Professor of Medicine, University of Minnesota Medical School) gives expert video advice on: What causes allergies?; What happens in my body when I have an allergic reaction?; Are allergies becoming more common? and more...

Contact dermatitis is a skin reaction, an allergic reaction where the skin reacts to a substance with which it comes into contact. This is a simple explanation of what contact dermatitis is. Poison Ivy, for example, is a contact dermatitis. If you are a susceptible person and you are exposed to Poison Ivy, you will get a rash. Some people get contact dermatitis from things like detergents when they wash their clothes with detergents with enzymes or coloring agents. Some people get contact dermatitis through their clothes. Contact dermatitis is a skin reaction to something which they come into contact with.