HealthInfo West Coast-Te Tai Poutini
Irritant contact dermatitis
Mate harehare hīrawerawe
Irritant contact dermatitis is when your skin reacts to a particular substance (an irritant). This causes it to become red, itchy, painful and inflamed.
Common irritants include detergents and chemicals. Others are overexposure to water and skin that is injured by friction.
Irritant contact dermatitis can happen the first time your skin comes into contact with an irritant. For example, after touching a strong chemical. But it usually happens when you regularly come into contact with the irritant. For example, you may be frequently putting your hands in water or using certain cleaning products.
Irritant contact dermatitis often affects your hands. But it can affect any part of your skin that comes in contact with irritants. It is common in people with certain jobs. For example, hairdressers, cleaners, healthcare workers and caterers.
People who have atopic eczema or who had it in childhood are more likely to get irritant contact dermatitis.
Diagnosing irritant contact dermatitis
Your general practice team can usually diagnose irritant contact dermatitis by the appearance of your skin. They will ask you questions about your symptoms. These will include when the symptoms first appeared, what you were in contact with and what made the symptoms worse. With your help, they will try to identify the irritant.
If the irritant is obvious, you will not need any tests. If it is not obvious, you might be referred to see a dermatologist (skin doctor) for patch testing. These are skin allergy tests to check if another condition called allergic contact dermatitis is causing the problem.
You can read about patch testing on DermNet NZ.
Treating irritant contact dermatitis
Treatments for irritant contact dermatitis include:
- Avoiding contact with the irritant. Try to identify the irritant then avoid it. Sometimes you cannot totally avoid the irritant because it is part of your work. If your contact dermatitis is related to work, you should see your general practice team. They may be able to lodge an ACC claim for you. ACC can help you and your employer find ways to look after your skin at work.
- Wearing something to protect your skin from the irritant, such as gloves.
- Applying emollients to your skin. Emollients are moisturising products used to soften skin and provide a barrier, so it becomes less irritated.
- Avoiding soap because soap dries out your skin and makes it more sensitive. Use a soap substitute such as Sorbolene. You can buy this from a pharmacy or get it on prescription from your general practice team.
- Applying anti-inflammatory topical steroid creams directly onto your skin. Talk to your general practice team about whether you need these.
HealthInfo recommends the following pages
- DermNet NZ – Irritant contact dermatitis
Information about irritant contact dermatitis. Includes what causes it and how it is treated.
Written by HealthInfo clinical advisers. Last reviewed February 2025.
SourcesReview key: HICOD-326084
