This article is only available in the PDF format. Download the PDF to view the article, as well as its associated figures and tables.
There has been a recent tendency to develop soaplike materials for shampoos; one of these is a solution of hymolal salts. This is a combination of sulphonated alcohols of high molecular weight combined with an alkali to form the neutral salt.
I have been unable to find reports in the literature of cases of dermatitis produced by the use of these new compounds.
REPORT OF A CASE
A white man, aged 35, a local "beautician," first consulted me in the middle of March for dermatitis of both hands. The irritation commenced about a week previously and gradually increased in severity. The history revealed the fact that about March 1 the patient commenced to use hymolal salts as a shampoo, giving an average of ten treatments a day.Examination disclosed what first appeared to be a severe case of "chapped" hands. The skin was dry and erythematous, and the normal linear