Mercury allergy in Budapest

Mercury allergy in a contact dermatitis clinic in Northern Ireland

“…No patient in this study reacted to mercuric chloride alone. This is in broad agreement with the findings of Nebenfuhrer et al (14), who similarly patch tested patients to ammoniated mercury 1% pet. and mercuric chloride 0.3% aq.…”

“…Whether this really reflects a higher female prevalence of mercury allergy or is simply because more females than males (2: 1) were included in the study is uncertain. Nebenfuhrer et al (14) previously patch tested equal numbers of males and females and found a 1.6:1 female preponderance of mercury allergy, and in another study, all 27 patients with mercury allergy were female (19). Thus, on the basis of current data, mercury allergy does appear to be more common in females; the reasons for this are uncertain.…”

“…Mercury allergy was not relevant to the presenting complaint in any of these patch-test-positive patients and only 2 females (14.3%) gave a history of clinically manifest allergic reactions to mercury. Nebenfuhrer et al (14) similarly reported a low incidence (15%) of clinical allergy in mercury-sensitive individuals. Thus a positive random patch test to mercury appears to be a marker of latent mercury sensitivity, often with little clinical relevance.…”

“…There is no general consensus regarding which mercury compounds to use for patch testing patients with suspected mercury allergy. Problems arise as (a) most mercury compounds, especially mercuric chloride and thimerosal, are highly irritant (9, 10), (b) aqueous solutions of mercury salts can react with aluminium in Finn Chambers to produce irritant compounds (11,12), and (c) the degree of cross-reactivity between different inorganic and organic mercury compounds is uncertain (10,(13)(14)(15)(16). The North American Contact Dermatitis Group (NACDG) recommends patch testing only with ammoniated mercury (17), but others also test with metallic mercury (10,13), ground-up amalgam (2), thimerosal (10,13), and mercuric chloride (9,10).…”

Airborne contact dermatitis from East Indian rosewood (Dalbergia latifolia Roxb.)

“…Like all Dalbergia species, usually known as rosewood (French: palissandre), East Indian rosewood is used for furniture veneering, wooden floors, musical instruments, and various wooden articles such as handles. All Dalbergia species (family: Leguminosae-Papilionaceae) contain sensitizing benzoquinones named dalbergiones (1).…”