Contact sensitization to alcohol in disinfectants is rare, finds study
Germany: Alcohols and DDAC are rarely responsible for allergic contact dermatitis and accused products should be checked for other allergens and further additives with skin-irritating properties, a recent study has revealed. Individual mishandling and susceptibility of the disinfectants should be considered.
The findings, published in the journal Contact Dermatitis, are relevant keeping in view the increasing use of disinfectants during the ongoing coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) pandemic for infection control.
"With regard to efficiency and possibility of local production, the World Health Organization (WHO) recommends using alcohol‐based handrub formulations (containing 80% ethanol or 75% isopropanol) especially during the COVID‐19 pandemic," wrote the authors.
Katharina Kreipe, University Medical Center Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany, and colleagues aimed to determine the frequency of sensitization and the value of patch testing to didecyldimethylammonium chloride (DDAC) and the alcohols ethanol, 1‐propanol, and isopropanol.
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