Occupational contact urticaria caused by polyvinylchloride gloves.

Allergy to natural rubber latex (NRL) gloves in healthcare workers is well recognized, and usually presents as immunological contact urticaria and sometimes anaphylaxis. Latex gloves can also cause allergic contact dermatitis, mostly because of rubber accelerators. As latex sensitivity is well known in healthcare settings, synthetic latex-free gloves are widely used. The most popular latexfree gloves are made of nitrile, polyvinylchloride (PVC), neoprene, or polyethylene. Only a few cases of contact urticaria caused by synthetic rubber or plastic materials have been reported. We describe a case of occupational contact urticaria caused by PVC gloves.