Oil of turpentine--a disappearing allergen.

Oil of turpentine has become an infrequent allergen because of its replacement by the petroleum product white spirit, its deliberate exclusion from industrial products, and because the balsam oils used nowadays do not contain the sensitiser delta 3-carene. On the basis of the generally low incidence of sensitisation being currently recorded, the International Contact Dermatitis Group recommend that oil of turpentine be removed from standard patch test series.