Dermatitis under soccer shin guards: allergy or contact irritant reaction?

We report a retrospective analysis of eight children aged 9 to 16 years who were evaluated for a persistent or recurrent dermatitis that appeared under soccer shin guards. To examine the possibility of contact allergy, all had 51 standard epicutaneous (patch) tests applied and three or four additional tests comprised of pieces of the shin guard components. Tests were read at 48 and 120 hours and all were negative in each subject. Irritant contact dermatitis, not allergy, was the cause of dermatitis in these subjects. It was postulated that sweating and friction contributed to the irritancy.