Small comfort for sufferers of textile contact dermatitis

If the crooks of your arms are suddenly covered with itchy red pustules, a new sweater may be to blame. Many textiles contain numerous chemicals that, if not bound tightly in the fabric, can rub off on the skin and cause allergic reactions.

"Textile contact dermatitis is typically characterized by delayed reactions such as redness, scaling and eczema. The symptoms usually appear hours, sometimes even days, after contact with the material," notes Franziska Rueff, a dermatologist at the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich.

The areas of the body most often affected are those having the most contact with clothing: the crooks of the arm, backs of the knees, armpits, groin area and buttocks.