Methylmethacrylate was first reported in 1941 as a cause of
contact dermatitis. Since then, occupational contact
allergies to
acrylates in dentistry,
orthopedic surgery, printing industry and industry have been reported, but few reports are found in the literature as a consequence of the contact with sculptured artificial acrylic nails which are increasingly popular. We describe here 3 patients with contact
allergy to
acrylates in artificial sculptured nails. Patch tests were performed with the Portuguese baseline series of contact
allergens and an extended series of
acrylates were applied. In particular, we tested three female patients with
allergic contact dermatitis from sculptured acrylic nails. Two of these patients were both customers and also technical nail beauticians. Two patients developed periungual
eczema; one presented only with face and eyelid
dermatitis had no other lesions. The tests showed positive reaction to 2-hydroxyethylmethacrylate (2-HEMA) and 2-hydroxypropylmethacrylate (2-HPMA) in all the three patients. Our cases demonstrate the variety of clinical presentations of
allergic contact dermatitis from acrylic sculptured nails. They show the need to warn patients of persistent and sometimes permanent side effects of these products. They also emphasize the importance of cosmetic ingredient labeling.