Hypersensitivity Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Hypersensitivity, including details on allergens, asthma, syndromes, skin tests, immune responses.

Delayed hypersensitivity reaction from black henna tattoo manifesting as severe facial swelling.

Shavit I, Hoffmann Y, Shachor-Meyouhas Y, Knaani-Levinz H

Emergency Department, Meyer Children's Hospital, Rambam Health Care Campus, Haifa, Israel. i_shavit@rambam.health.gov.il

We report on a 14-year-old boy who was presented to the emergency department with an acute swelling of the face and scalp 3 days after using a new hair dye. The patient had applied a black henna tattoo 1 year earlier. Patch testing revealed an allergy to the potent skin sensitizer paraphenylenediamine, a common ingredient of hair dyes and also found in black henna tattoo. It is important for emergency physicians to be aware of the possibility of a delayed type-IV hypersensitivity reaction from black henna tattoos manifesting as an acute contact dermatitis. These patients may have gross facial swelling but should not be treated for angioedema.

Published 15 April 2008 in Am J Emerg Med, 26(4): 515.e3-4.
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