Dermatitis Due to Shoe Leather

"Chrome" Dermatitis

“…Dermatoses of the feet have been proved to be due to dyes or other chemicals in the leather,1,2 to the thermoplastic material used in the box toes of shoes,3 to rubber adhesives in shoes,4 and to the myriad other substances that go into the leather. [5][6][7][8][9] In his attempt to elicit the cause of an eruption of the feet, however, the physician has been guided for years by certain accepted dicta: first, that the chromium which is used in tanning most hides into shoe leather cannot cause such eruptions, inasmuch as it is not "hexavalent," and "only`h exavalent' chromium can cause skin disease"; and, secondly, that this chromium is firmly fixed in the leather and cannot easily be removed. It is the purpose of this article to point out that both of these longtaught "principles" are incorrect, and that, therefore, if a person sensitive to certain chromic salts is afflicted with recurrent "shoe leather dermatitis," the cause may well be the chromium in his shoes, leached out and deposited on the skin by human perspiration.…”