Severe bullous allergic contact dermatitis caused by glycidyl methacrylate and other acrylates.

A 50-year-old healthy man was seen at the outpatient clinic after he had suffered two episodes of skin lesions on his left knee, right wrist, and left ring finger (Fig. 1a,b). A few hours after he had finished his work, these lesions appeared as burning, indurated redness, developing into tense blisters within 24 hr. The lesions healed without scar formation within 10 days. An occupational dermatitis was suspected, and history revealed that, for 3 years, the patient had been working as a process operator in the production of semi-finished products. He controlled production processes and manually added chemicals, ammonium persulfate and different liquid acrylates, in a semi-closed process. Material safety data sheets provided by the employer showed that these liquid acrylates included 1,6hexanediol diacrylate (HDDA) and glycidyl methacrylate (GMA). As protection, the patient wore chemicalresistant, but liquid-permeable, clothing. In addition, he wore protective gloves: cotton gloves with a rubber coating on the palmar sites of the gloves for use during