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Other Topical Therapies (Dyes, Tanning Agents, Tars, CO2)

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Kanerva’s Occupational Dermatology
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1 Introduction

In addition to the typical local therapies for eczematous diseases like topical corticosteroids, local calcineurin inhibitors, and UV-therapy, there are some options for alternative or supporting therapies. Some of them are established since many years and known longer than the typical therapies, for some of them there are no randomized, placebo-controlled studies, but they are used for a simple reason – they work. The following chapter deals with dyes, tanning agents, tars, and CO2.

2 Dyes

In dermatology, aniline dyes are used as antiseptic agents for more than 100 years. These antiseptics are able to destroy microorganisms, with the exception of bacteria in the spore stadium. The aim of using antiseptic agents is to reduce the number of pathogenic germs to a less harmful quantity. Worldwide triarylmethane dyes are used for such purposes. In some countries, however, like Germany, some of these dyes are not classified as harmless or even banned for medical use.

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Schröder-Kraft, C. (2018). Other Topical Therapies (Dyes, Tanning Agents, Tars, CO2). In: John, S., Johansen, J., Rustemeyer, T., Elsner, P., Maibach, H. (eds) Kanerva’s Occupational Dermatology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-40221-5_96-2

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