Dermatitis from Contact with Agave Americana
Haim Golan, Marina Landau, Ilan Goldberg, Sara Brenner
Dermatology Dept., Tel Aviv-Sourasky Medical Center
Various plants induce dermatitis in man. There have been only a few published cases of contact dermatitis caused by Agave americana (AA).
We report intentional exposure to AA in a soldier seeking sick leave, and review our previously reported cases. Treatment with oral antihistamines and topical saline compresses resulted in subsidence of the systemic symptoms within 24h and regression of cutaneous manifestations in 7-10 days.
Physicians should be alert to the possibility of self-inflicted contact dermatitis induced by exposure to plants, especially to A. americana. Systemic signs may accompany the cutaneous lesions.