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Contact dermatitis is a skin condition caused by contact between skin and some substance. Includes irritant contact dermatitis (a rash brought on purely by repeated irritation from a substance such as water causing "dish pan hands") and the less common allergic contact dermatitis (involving a specific sensitivity or allergy to a specific substance such as poison ivy).

Contact eczema is a localized reaction that includes redness, itching, and burning where the skin has come into contact with an allergen (an allergy-causing substance) or with an irritant such as an acid, a cleaning agent or another chemical.