Dear Doctor
I have a rash on both sides of my neck for about 2 month, it is very itchy.
Dear Patient
Your symptoms are suggestive of neck contact dermatitis.
Causes of neck contact dermatitis
The causes of neck contact dermatitis include:
1. Jewelry like chains and necklaces made of nickel, leather and other materials
2. Hair dyes, permanent wave solutions and other hair straighteners
3. Fragrances from perfumes, soaps, shampoos and lotions used on the neck
4. Skin care products applied to the neck with ingredients like Balsam of Peru
5. Medications applied on the neck like the antibiotic neomycin
6. Fabrics and clothing
Treatment of neck contact dermatitis
The treatment of contact dermatitis is as follows:
1. Identify and avoid the irritant. This is most probably something that begun getting in contact with your neck 2 months ago. Therefore go through the above list of the causes of neck contact dermatitis and identify what could be irritating your skin.
2. Clean the area with tepid water.
3. Apply a mild steroid cream like 1% Hydrocortisone twice a day for 5 days.
4. Take an anthistamine by mouth. Examples include the non-sedating fexofenadine (Allegra) and loratadine (Claritin) as well as the less sedating cetirizine (Zyrtec). The sedating diphenhydramine (Benadryl) and hydroxyzine (Atarax, Vistaril) can also be used to reduce the itch if it disturbs sleep.
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