CORTICOSTEROID ALLERGY IN CHILDREN - A POTENTIAL COMPLICATION OF ATOPIC ECZEMA

We present contact allergy to corticosteroids in six children aged fro m 18 months to 15 years observed in a 4-year period. The corticosteroi d allergy was a complication of an atopic eczema in four of them. In t wo of the patients, the corticosteroid allergy was not suspected befor e testing and was only detected by routine testing with corticosteroid s. These cases support the recent findings that contact allergy is not exceptional in children. Moreover, they illustrate that, when a derma titis (and especially an atopic eczema) does not respond as expected t o treatment, contact allergy to the topical agents used (such as corti costeroids) should be considered.