Epoxy resins are frequently used to improve the appearance of a socket and to render it impervious to external agents. These resins, if not completely cured in their manufacture, may trigger a primary-irritant dermatitis, as well as a specific allergic reaction, with intense itching and oozing or redness of the skin. Some amputees have various pads, such as foam-rubber cushions, on the bottoms of their sockets and these can be potential irritants. Any of these cements can produce a dermatitis of the stump skin after weeks, months, or even years of continued use. In some instances, we have found only by a carefully taken history that beginning the use of a new cream, lubricant, or cleansing agent coincided with the onset of the itching or dermatitis.
Patch tests can be informative in pinpointing specific substances as causes of dermatitis.
In those instances where the irritant is not easily identified and patch tests have been inconclusive, temporary symptomatic therapy may alleviate the condition. Cool or cold compresses, bland anti-itch lotions, and the topical use of corticosteriod preparations have been most beneficial in my experience. Eczematization of the stump skin has been in a number of instances as a persistent, weeping, itching area of dermatitis over the distal portion of the stump. The lesions are at times dry and scaly while at other times they become moist without apparent reason. Edema, even of short duration, is capable of producing such eczematization distally, as is seen in a static eczema of the ankles or legs.