The effect of repeated open exposure to low levels of nickel on compromised hand skin of nickel‐allergic subjects

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Abstract
Nickel is a very common contact allergen, with some reports showing that more than 10% of women are affected. It is therefore important to be able to assess the risk of elicitation of nickel dermatitis in such individuals, particularly in relation to repeated exposure to low levels of this metal. It has been shown previously that under the conditions of a 48‐h occluded patch test, some subjects will react to as little as 0.5 ppm nickel on compromised skin. In the present study, the effect of repeated open nickel application combined with repeated treatment with the anionic surfactant sodium dodecyl sulphate has been evaluated on the hand skin of 4 nickel‐allergic subjects. Despite 2 of these being known to be particularly sensitive, there was no evidence of a nickel‐allergic reaction following 2 × daily immersion of hand skin sites in up to 1 ppm nickel over a period of 23 days.