Contact Dermatitis From Selenium Sulfide Shampoo

During the past few years, selenium sulfide has rapidly replaced the older forms of treatment of seborrheic dermatitis of the scalp.1Its convenience and ease of application make it especially acceptable to women. This preparation has been reported2as producing few reactions with no cases of toxicity or dermatitis following its use by many. However, I have encountered three patients in which selenium sulfide produced an eczematous eruption of the external auditory canal and auricular appendage. REPORT OF CASES Case1.—J. L. E., a 36-year-old white housewife, seen in October, 1952, first noted itching, weeping, and encrusting of both external auditory canals and ear lobes in July, 1952. This cleared up in about four days, without treatment, only to recur at two-week intervals over a period of three months. Examination showed considerable edema, with crusting, fissuring, and erythema of the external auditory canals and