Tefillin dermatitis.

Tefillin (phylacteries) are a religious article worn by observant Jewish men. Only two cases of allergic contact dermatitis from tefillin have been reported previously. We describe 7 new cases of tefillin contact dermatitis and review the literature on contact allergy caused by religious objects and practices. All our patients had contact allergy to potassium dichromate, which was the only allergen relevant to tefillin .