Effects of infra-red A (IRA) (600-2000 nm) and 1064 nm laser irradiation on non-immunologic immediate contact reactions (NIICRs) induced by benzoic acid (BA) and methyl nicotinate (MN) were studied. Five concentrations of BA and MN in petrolatum were tested, on two subsequent days, without occlusion on the upper arm of 10 or 12 test subjects, with a dose of IRA irradiation that elevated surface temperature of the skin to 39.5 degrees C. In the first group exposed to IRA irradiation, the NIICR tests were performed immediately after the surface temperature of the skin had reached 39.5 degrees C; the skin was then allowed to cool down. In the second group exposed to IRA irradiation, the NIICRs were performed after a skin temperature of 39.5 degrees C was attained, and the skin temperature was kept unchanged for another 15 min. In the 1064 nm laser exposure group of 12 subjects, the tests were performed on the upper back immediately after irradiation of the skin with 100, 50, and 25 J/cm2 of neodymium yttrium aluminium garnet (Nd-YAG) laser (1064 nm). Reactions were monitored with laser-Doppler flowmetry 20 and 40 min after application, and erythema and edema reactions were graded visually. In the first group exposed to IRA, the warming had an enhancing effect on only one reaction induced by MN. In the second group exposed to IRA irradiation, the NIICRs occurring from BA on the exposure day were stronger on the exposed than both the reactions on the non-exposed area as well as the responses to MN on the irradiated area on the following day only.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Skin disorders and prick and patch test reactivity in Finnish reindeer herders.

In addition to an interview, skin tests and clinical examinations were performed on 211 randomly selected reindeer herders from 21 to 77 years of age (mean 45 years). Skin tests consisted of skin prick tests (SPT) with 9 allergens: cat and cow epithelium, dog, horse and reindeer epithelium, house dust mite, birch pollen, meadow grass pollen and mugwort pollen, as well as patch tests with 31 allergens. Of the 211 tested, 19 (9%) had positive SPT reactions to at least one allergen, and 19/173 (11%) showed a positive patch test result. Thirty-six of the 211 (17%) had past or present atopic dermatitis. These findings suggest that the prevalence of immediate and contact allergies and skin diseases is roughly the same as that of other Finns. A positive SPT reaction to birch pollen was encountered less frequently than in a previous Finnish study conducted in southeastern Finland.

Adult↗