{'fraction_non_alphanumeric': 0.02060133630289532, 'fraction_numerical': 0.005011135857461025, 'mean_word_length': 4.615625, 'pattern_counts': {'":': 0, '<': 0, '<?xml version=': 0, '>': 0, 'https://': 0, 'lorem ipsum': 0, 'www.': 0, 'xml': 0}, 'pii_count': 0, 'substrings_counts': 0, 'word_list_counts': {'cursed_substrings.json': 0, 'profanity_word_list.json': 0, 'sexual_word_list.json': 0, 'zh_pornsignals.json': 0}}
Routine photopatch testing in patients with photodermatoses

A 25-year-old man, after one year's daily work with a wood preservative containing kerosene as a solvent, developed a slight eczema of the arms and on the face, but not on the hands which were protected by plastic gloves. Three months after the eczema had started he was tattooed, partly with a red colour. Within a week he developed eczema on the legs and trunk, and the eczema on the arms exacerbated. He was then treated with steroid creams, and four weeks later he showed only erythema and dry skin. The red part of the tattoo was, however, swollen and had been so from the very beginning. Patch test showed a strong reaction to 0.5 % mercury metal in petrolatum. Analysis with atomic absorption spectrography of the preservative showed traces of mercury. The solvent (kerosene) contained 0.1 flg mercury/mi. The excised tattoo contained 670 flg mercury. A few weeks after the excision, the eczema had healed completely. Sensitization to mercury in tattoos usually develops after months or years. The fact that the red tattoo was swollen from the beginning indicates that the patient was sensitized before the tattooing was carried out. The slight eczema which had persisted for about three months prior to the tattooing might have been caused by mercury in the preservative. The concentration was low but the absorption may have been facilitated by the solvent. The exacerbation and spreading of the eczema might be due to leaking of soluble mercury from the tattoo. The reason why the solvent was contaminated with mercury is unknown but will be investigated. Eczema from work with kerosene is usually diagnosed as contact dermatitis of irritant type, but in future, we may have to suspect mercury allergy in some of these cases.