Allergic contact dermatitis from urea‐formaldehyde resin in medium‐density fibreboard (MDF)

A 33-year-old man presented with a 10-month history of an intensely itchy, eczematous rash predominantly on his face, but also involving the chest, back and antecubital fossae. 8 months previously he had changed his job to one which involved cutting and laying laminated flooring composed of medium-density fibreboard (MDF). He had suffered from atopic eczema in childhood which had cleared at the age of 8years. His total IgE was 472kU/mL, confirming his atopic diathesis. He was patch tested to the European standard series, preservatives, plants and corticosteroid series, his own topical medicaments, the following formaldehyde resins (Chemotechnique): phenol-formaldehyde resin 1% pet; 4-tertiary-butylphenolformaldehyde resin 1% pet; ureaformaldehyde resin 10% pet; melamine-formaldehyde resin 7% pet; ethyleneurea-melamine-formaldehyde resin 5% pet, and MDF sawdust 50% pet. There were positive reactions to urea-formaldehyde resin 10% pet. (π π) at D2 and D4, while there were no reactions to formaldehyde, the other formaldehyde resins or his MDF sawdust. Material safety data sheets from his employers declared that the MDF boards with which he was working contained urea-formaldehyde resin.