Atopic Dermatitis of the Hands Due to Food Allergy

"ECZEMATOID" dermatitis of the hands may be due to atopic allergy to food more frequently than has been realized. This opinion is based on the control and reproduction of dermatitis of the hands by the elimination and later by the reintroduction of allergenic foods into the diet of 80 patients in a series of 182 patients with dermatitis of the hands seen in the private practice of allergy. Atopic dermatitis of the hands due to allergy to inhaled pollen as a major or secondary cause also occurred in 22 of these patients.¹ In the literature on atopic dermatitis due to food allergy there is little previous reference to the major or sole involvement of the hands.