“Recall dermatitis” classically refers to the uncommon phenomenon of chemotherapy-induced reactivation of skin damage originally induced by radiotherapy months or years earlier. We compare this condition to ectopic flare-up reactions presenting as dermatitis at existing or previous sites by an inducing agent. Enhanced sensitization of an existent allergen by patch testing is rarely described. We describe a case of a 61-year-old man's developing localized allergic contact dermatitis at previous neomycin-treated sites following the diagnosis of neomycin sensitivity on patch testing, which we attribute to a “flare-up” phenomenon.
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