Frequently Asked Questions

Allergic Contact Dermatitis (ACD) is an itchy, bumpy skin rash caused by touching a specific substance that you are allergic to (an allergen). A skin reaction can begin hours to days (and sometimes even a few weeks) after exposure.  This rash can happen even if you have handled that substance before without developing any problems.

An allergen is a substance that you may come in contact with in your daily life that can make your skin react and cause a rash. We use Patch Testing to test for possible allergens.

Patch testing is done to diagnose Allergic Contact Dermatitis. Your provider puts small patches on your back that have common allergens, like substances found in everyday products. The patches stay on for 2 days. After 4-7 days, your provider checks to see if any substances cause an allergic reaction (and might be causing your rash).

The main treatment for allergic contact dermatitis is to avoid touching what you are allergic to. It might take about 6-8 weeks of staying away from your allergen(s) for the rash to get better and up to 3-6 months before the rash completely clears up.

Using the ACDS Contact Allergen Management Program (CAMP), your provider has created a customized Safe List of products that do not contain your known allergens. By using CAMP, you can also access more information about your allergens.

Please note that it can take 6-8 weeks of consistent avoidance of your allergens to see improvement, and 3-6 months of avoidance for your rash to clear. If you are not getting better, there can be many reasons for this. Please follow up with your dermatology provider

The ACDS Contact Allergen Management Program (CAMP) is a website and mobile app designed to help you find products that do not contain your allergens and are safe for you to use. This free tool was created by the American Contact Dermatitis Society, a non-profit organization dedicated to helping patients with allergic contact dermatitis and related conditions.

In order to access CAMP, your health care provider must be a member of the American Contact Dermatitis Society (ACDS). Your health care provider will provide you with allergen search codes, which are required to access CAMP.

Once you have your allergen search codes, you may access CAMP through the website www.acdscamp.org or by downloading the ACDS CAMP mobile app (available for Android and iOS). Search for “ACDS CAMP” in the app store.  New users must register through the website or mobile app using the allergen search codes provided by your ACDS provider after patch testing.

Allergen search codes are a 2-part code that you will use to register for CAMP. These are unique codes for you which are generated by your provider. Only providers who are ACDS members have the ability to generate these codes.

The codes should look like this:
Code 1: aaAAa
Code 2: BbBBB

You may also use the QR code provided by your provider to register through the CAMP mobile app. The QR code can be used once you have downloaded and opened the CAMP app.

To register on the CAMP website, select the “Patient Registration” icon on the home page website (www.acdscamp.org).

To register using the mobile application, select the “Patient Registration” icon on the home page of the application. Enter the codes given to you by your provider under “Code 1” and “Code 2”.

You may also register using the QR code given to you by your provider, which will automatically enter your codes for registration. Note: The QR code can only be used once you are inside the CAMP app.

Notice: Please note that in accessing the ACDS CAMP database you will be leaving the Web site of the American Contact Dermatitis Society. These  links will take you to sites over which ACDS has no control. This link does not imply, directly or indirectly, the endorsement, sponsorship, or approval by ACDS of any products, services or organizations referenced on the site. ACDS assumes no responsibility or liability for the accuracy or completeness of content contained on the sites or for their compliance with applicable laws. The content of the sites do not necessarily reflect the opinions, standards, or policies of the ACDS.

After logging into your account, select the “View Your Safe List” icon. This will bring you to your Safe List, which is a list of products that should not contain your allergens. Products on the Safe List are sorted by alphabetical order by default, but you may also sort by “Brand” or “Last Update Date”.

You can change your password in the “My Profile” page under “Change Password”.

If you forget your password, you may select the “Forgot your password?” icon on the home page. You will be able to enter your email and receive a link to reset your password for your account.

Navigate to your profile using the “Edit my Profile” Icon from the home page or the “My Profile” icon from the sidebar. From that page you will be able to identify your codes, edit your preferred name, view your preferred allergens, edit your notification settings, update your quality of life, change your password, or delete your account.

You can delete your account in the “My Profile” page under “Delete Account”. This action is permanent and cannot be retrieved once clicked.

Can’t find a product on your list? Use the “Add Product” feature to enter a product’s information into the system. Click on the + icon to enter a product’s information into the database. You will get a notification once the product is added to CAMP.

You can search for the product in the Search Bar on the “Safe List” Page. You can also Scan a product barcode when using the CAMP Mobile app, which will pull up the product and tell you if that product is safe for you to use.

It is important to note that all products have unique UPC codes based on different product sizes available. If you are unable to find results for the size you scanned, try searching by name instead as we may have the product in the database in a different size.

You may report products that should not be on your Safe List using the “Report” form on the product page. Using the form, tell us why that product should not be on your Safe List.

When accessing specific products on your safe list, you will notice that all ingredients are listed in green. When accessing an unsafe product, the product will display those ingredients in bold red which make the product unsafe for you to use.

Example of a safe product:

Example of an unsafe product:

From the “Product Page”, you can search for a product at several online retailers including Amazon, CVS, Target, Walgreens, and Walmart.

CAMP is a service offered by ACDS, a non-profit organization.  We try our best to provide an accurate list of products that do not contain your allergens. However, sometimes a product may be incorrectly placed on your safe list (for example, if manufacturers change the ingredients in a particular product without letting us know, etc). For this reason, we recommend that you still double check the ingredients of products listed on your safe list, and report any issues with your safe list to us, so that we can address them and continue to improve. Read our full disclaimer here

Note: The CAMP Safe List is meant to provide a list of products that do not contain the allergens identified by your dermatology provider. There are other non-allergic reasons for getting a skin reaction to products. If you are not improving, it is important to follow up with your dermatology provider.

Once logged into your account, use the “Explore the Learning Center” icon or “Learning Center” menu option to read more about your allergens and contact dermatitis.

You can view your allergens in the “My Profile” page under “My Allergens”.

You can update your demographic information in the “My Profile” page under “About You”.

The quality of life feature allows you to track your skin symptoms so you might better understand how allergic contact dermatitis is affecting your quality of life. A higher score means your skin disease is negatively impacting your qualify of life. For higher scores, consider reaching out to your physician for further care.

The quality of life feature allows you to track how your allergic contact dermatitis is affecting your life over time. Recording your scores periodically will help identify your progress. You can update your quality of life information in the “My Profile” page under “Quality of Life”.

The American Contact Dermatitis Society (ACDS) is a non-profit organization committed to advancing the care and understanding of skin allergy and eczema.

Learn more about ACDS using the “About ACDS” page on the CAMP website or app of vising the ACDS website.