- Onset of symptoms within minutes to hours of exposure
- Pain, burning, stinging, or discomfort exceeding itching, especially early in the clinical course
| - Onset of dermatitis within two weeks of environmental exposure
- Many people in the environment similarly affected
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- Macular erythema, hyperkeratosis, or fissuring predominating over vesicular change
- Glazed, parched, or scalded appearance of the epidermis
- The healing process proceeds without plateau upon withdrawal of exposure to substance in question
- Patch testing with known environmentally relevant allergens is negative
| - Sharp circumspection of the dermatitis
- Evidence of gravitational influence, such as a dripping effect
- Lack of tendency for spread of dermatitis
- Vesicles juxtaposed closely to patches of erythema, erosions, bullae, or other morphologic changes, which suggest that small differences in concentration or contact time produce large differences in skin damage
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