by Jared Reed  

Nickel in mobile phone casings is being blamed for new cases of otherwise unexplained unilateral dermatitis on the face.  

In one case, an Australian man presented with a six-month history of treatment-resistant facial rash on his left cheek, which vanished after switching phones.  

The diagnosis was made based on the distinctive pattern of the dermatitis corresponding to the phone’s nickel panels, and evidence of nickel contact dermatitis on the abdomen and wrist from the man’s belt buckle and wristwatch clasp.  

Up to 20% of the Australian population has a nickel sensitisation, and contact dermatitis from mobile phones is set to increase due to the manufacturing trend towards metallic mobile phone casings, says Dr Hugh Roberts from the Skin Cancer Foundation in the Australasian Journal of Dermatology (online 28 Dec).     

“It is imperative that patients with nickel induced mobile phone contact dermatitis choose phones that are free from nickel. A phone casing made entirely of plastic materials may be more appropriate in these patients,” the authors write.  

A dimethyglyoxime test kit can be purchased prior to purchase, they say, but note that display mobile phone models are often made from different materials to the final product.