ISLAMABAD-People with sensitive skin may be at risk of eczema flare-ups triggered by wearing a face mask. Medics reveal a 60 year old man with a history of several skin allergies suffered a bout of dermatitis brought on by his mask. After initially struggling to diagnose the root of the issue, doctors realized it was the elastic bands of his face mask which was the cause. The patient was diagnosed with a case of contact dermatitis, a form of eczema fuelled by a reaction to a substance or material. The American man was put on medication with prednisone, a regular anti-allergy drug, before the mask issue was spotted. But this was ineffective and the man later returned to his doctors with the issue. After identifying the location on the face was in the same place as a mask sits, the doctors speculated the form of PPE may be to blame. ‘We realized that his rash appeared right where the elastic parts of a mask would rest,’ said allergist Dr. Kristin Schmidlin, co-author of the paper. The challenging case study shows those with elastic bands may lead to flare-ups, said Dr. Dhamija. The findings are presented at the annual Annals of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology meeting.