Systemic allergy to  topical hexamidine

Mullins, Raymond J

doi:10.5694/j.1326-5377.2006.tb00513.x

Topics

To the Editor: Food, medication or insect stings are the major causes of systemic allergic reactions.1 That topical agents can mimic such reactions is not commonly appreciated. I report here a systemic allergic reaction to a topical medication (initially attributed to food).

John James Medical Centre, Canberra, ACT.

Correspondence: rmullins@allergycapital.com.au

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4. Krautheim AB, Jermann TH, Bircher AJ. Chlorhexidine anaphylaxis: case report and review of the literature. Contact Dermatitis 2004; 50: 113-116.
5. Guillet G, Guillet MH, Dagregorio G. Allergic contact dermatitis from natural rubber latex in atopic dermatitis and the risk of later Type I allergy. Contact Dermatitis 2005; 53: 46-51.

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