You should seek the advice of your veterinarian if your pet is ill as only he or she can correctly advise on the diagnosis and recommend the treatment that is most appropriate for your pet.

Contact skin inflammation (dermatitis) is caused by chemicals in the environment.

Animals sometimes suffer from inflammation of the skin following direct contact with chemicals in the environment. The effect can be due to direct irritation following contact with a noxious substance, or it can be due to an allergic (hypersensitivity) reaction that occurs in the skin because of activation of the animals immune system. 

Animals with contact dermatitis may show the following signs :

• Redness of the affected areas of skin (called erythema)
• A rash of spots - papules (small solid swellings), vesicles (swelling filled with fluid) or macules (flat areas of discolouration) 
• Ulceration of the skin (in irritant contact dermatitis)
• The areas of skin most often exposed to such  "contact" include :
  • The underside of the body - the abdomen and chest (sternum)
  • The chin
  • The neck
  • The underside of the ears
  • Inside the legs
• The inflammation can be quite itchy (called pruritus), and the animal may scratch, bite or rub itself.

Diagnosis can be quite difficult in some cases, and your veterinarian may have to run a series of tests to identify the underlying cause of the signs. Removing the animal from contact with the chemical causing the problem is essential , followed by a re-challenge. For example, an animal can be kept off a suspect carpeted area of the house until the signs have gone, and then it can be allowed access again - in which case signs will  recur if the carpet was responsible. Sometimes suspect materials from the environment are strapped onto the animal's body in a so-called "patch test" to see if they cause a reaction.

Unless the underlying chemical can be identified and the animal can be protected from exposure to it, treatment involves the use of long term, intermittent anti-inflammatory drugs such as corticosteroids.

Updated October 2013