Some patients complain of red, itchy bumps on the skin when in contact with certain perfumes, jewelry or chemicals.

The symptoms can develop within a few hours to days after contact. These rashes are not contagious.

To evaluate for contact reactions- your allergist can perform a patch test. This type of test involves multiple “stickers” being applied to your back for 48 hrs. You would return 48 hrs after patch placement for an initial reading and again 7 days after for a final reading.

In our office, we use the “North American 65 Extended Series.” This tests for the 65 most common contact allergens that can occur in items such as lotions, hair color, nickel, makeup/soaps/shampoos, etc that are common to our region.