Allergic Contact Dermatitis from Cyanamide

Contact dermatitis in dairy cattle caused by calcium cyanamide

“…Three of the four cattle reacted positively to 5 per cent cyanamide, but only one reacted positively to 1 per cent cyanamide. In human beings, cyanamide at 1 per cent is an appropriate concentration for patch testing patients with contact dermatitis (Trebol and others 2005), and even at 0·1 per cent a positive reaction has been elicited (Goday Bujan and others 1994). However, the three cattle that tested positive for 5 per cent cyanamide did not react positively to 0·1 per cent cyanamide.…”

“…It has been reported that adding calcium cyanamide to a mixture of manure and sawdust is a very effective method of reducing levels of Escherichia coli (Minato and others 2001). In human beings, calcium cyanamide fertiliser has been shown to cause headache, vertigo, vomiting, respiratory disturbances, dermatitis and even death (Hauschild 1953), and two of its breakdown products have been reported to induce dermatological conditions: quicklime causes an irritant contact dermatitis (Winder and Carmody 2002) and cyanamide causes an allergic contact dermatitis (Goday Bujan and others 1994, Kawana 1997, Trebol and others 2005). Cyanamide is a drug used to treat chronic alcoholism because it interferes with the hepatic biotransformation of ethanol by inhibiting aldehyde dehydrogenase (Peachey and others 1981).…”