Allergic contact dermatitis from aluminium in deodorants.

A 28-year-old woman presented with an axillary eczema that occurred after using deodorants. Patch testing revealed contact allergy to aluminium chloride. With avoidance of aluminium-containing deodorants, the eczema cleared completely. Aluminium and its salts are widely used but contact allergy to them is uncommon. It is occasionally recognised incidentally as a reaction to aluminium Finn Chambers®. Exposure and sensitisation to aluminium usually occurs through exposure to aluminium preparations in topical medicaments, hyposensitization injections, or deodorants (1–4), however, in some cases the cause is unclear.