As to how often soap causes dermatitis there is great
divergence of opinion. It is easy to believe that excessive
use of soap may lead to degreasing of the corneous
layer, to cracking, and hence to some degree of soreness
-changes resembling chapping. Much greater difficulty
arises in respect of frankly eczematous lesions with
vesiculation or weeping. Klauder and Gross (1951)
stated that 13% of their cases of industrial dermatitis
were due to soap and water or to similar cleansers.
Downing (1939) blamed soap and water as a contributing
factor in nearly a quarter of his cases, and mentioned
soap as the primary hazard in hotel and restaurant
workers. Jordon et al. (1940) described a series of 239
cases of soap dermatitis in housewives, many of these
taking the form of patchy vesicular eczemas involving
the backs of the hands and one or several fingers. In
the discussion which followed, their diagnosis was not
questioned, and there appears to have been general
a-reement on the harmful properties of soap. But
Gross (1941) regarded the cases of Jordon et al. as
nummular eczema-which mav indeed be expected to
improve with rest and avoidance of soap, but the
primary cause of which remains obscure.