Ana M. Giménez-Arnau - Contact Urticaria Syndrome: Diagnosis and Management

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We, as subjects who live in this world, are constantly exposed to environmental agents capable of stimulating our innate and acquired immunity. Our skin, as a complete immunological organ, recognizes such environmental agents and develops a mechanism of protection. But why does our cutaneous immune system sometimes recognize common environmental agents as foreign and develop active diseases such as eczema or urticaria? Are allergies a sign of a weak immune system?

Signs and symptoms of the contact urticaria syndrome are associated with a substantial burden in the context of health. Eczema and urticaria are prevalent disabling diseases that interfere with the quality of life and have a well-recognized occupational relevance. For this reason, early diagnosis of these diseases is recommended. From the very beginning it is crucial that the patient receive correct information. What is needed is fast identification of the disease and immediate recommendation of the patient to the correct specialist who will develop an etiological diagnosis using the proper complementary tools.

All physicians should be capable of recognizing clinically the typical signs and symptoms that define an immediate skin contact reaction, diagnostic of contact urticaria, and protein contact dermatitis. This book includes a glossary of the essential concepts necessary to understand contact urticaria syndrome. The source of exposure to potential responsible agents is broad, and wherever possible it should be verified. This book is designed to give proper general information for the correct understanding of these prevalent skin cutaneous diseases in a practical way.

Young and veteran professionals, chemists, and physicians involved in different specialties such as dermatology, allergy, or occupational medicine built the chapters of the book. We thank them all for their enthusiasm and very good work. From epidemiology to the clinical management of specific cases, pathogenic, clinical expression, and diagnostic tools are extensively reviewed and clear protocols and algorithms are provided.

Our goal was to make this book easy to read, easy to understand, and easy to apply in your daily practice. We recommend including this text in your library. It will help improve your capacity for diagnosis and consequently your relationship with your population of reference.