Treatment of pompholyx due to nickel allergy with chelating agents.

Ingestion of nickel is important for the chronicity of hand eczema in nickel-sensitive patients. We have tried the effect of chelating agents. Diethyldithiocarbamate (DDC) and tetraethyl thiuramdisulfide (TETD) have proved effective in the treatment of nickel carbonyl poisoning. A 66-year-old woman suffering from severe nickel dermatitis has been treated in three periods, first with DDC 100 mg Q. I. D. for 20 days, and later with TETD 100 mg T. I. D. for two periods. An improvement has been observed in all three experiments.