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With the exception of certain drugs, some contactants give positive patch test reactions less frequently in patients with atopic dermatitis than in all patients with dermatitis. Both among atopics and other dermatitis patients, women reacted positively to most drugs more frequently than men did. In Poland, positive patch tests to balsams are rare in atopics.

The period after which skin changes appear is discussed, as well as localisation of their earliest appearance and allergens characteristic for physicians, dentists, nurses, veterinary surgeons and assistants, photographers and hair- dressers . Photographes handling coloured developers were found to be more exposed to dermatosis than those handling black and white ones. Ladies' hair- dressers suffer more frequently than gentelmen 's and nurses coming into contact with antibiotics and disinfectants are more exposed than other nurses.

The authors suggest the introduction of a mixture of two essential oils (citronellol and cassia) for consecutive testing of patients with dermatitis. The choice of these two oils is made on the basis of earlier investigations. Chromatographic investigation demonstrated that in this mixture no new peaks appear and no peaks disappear. In accord with this, skin tests with the mixture yielded positive results in nearly all cases of hypersensitivity to citronella or cassia oil and in these cases only. It is suggested that by using the mixture the probability of detecting hypersensitivity to essential oils is increased.