Resumen de Allergic contact dermatitis to cocamidopropyl betaine in Colombia
J.J. Yepes Núñez, F.E. Gómez Rendón, R. Nuñez Rinta
To the Editor, Shampoos, soaps and intimate hygiene products have been considered infrequent causes of allergic contact dermatitis (ACD) because they are preparations eliminated with water and their permanence on the skin is very brief. Allergens usually contained have a low sensitising capacity due to their low concentration and brief contact. An exception to this rule is cocamidopropyl betaine (CAPB), a non-ionic tensoactive agent that has been a relatively frequent cause of ACD to shampoos and other products that are eliminated with water in Europe and the US in the last 20 years.1 Currently, the advantages of synthetic detergent based products have gradually resulted in their greater popularity over common soaps. Recent studies in the US, Australia and Israel, suggest that CAPB allergy persists as a clinical problem, and that such compounds should be included among extracts used in standardised cutaneous patch tests.2 Detergents in general contain tensoactive agents which are believed to decrease water's superficial tension. On the other hand, surfactants are classified by their ionic properties in water as anionic, cationic, non-ionic or amphoteric.3 Amphoteric surfactants, of which betaine is the classical example, contain elements with both positive and negative charges within a same molecular structure, producing less irritant effects than those anionic tensoactive agents. CAPB is the main non-ionic tensoactive agent that contains ammonia and was originally introduced in personal hygiene products by Johnson & Johnson® in 1967 with the �no more tears� characteristic, mainly in children's shampoo ingredients. CABP is composed of a combination of fatty acids...
