Patient Benefits

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.

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.

The ACDS Contact Allergen Management Program (CAMP) is a website and mobile app designed to help users find products that do not contain their allergens and are safe for them 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, a patient's health care provider must be a member of the American Contact Dermatitis Society (ACDS). Their health care provider will provide them with allergen search codes, which are required to access CAMP.

Allergen search codes are a 2-part code that users will use to register for CAMP. These are unique codes for the user generated by their provider.

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

Users may also use the QR code provided by their provider to register through the CAMP mobile app; the QR code can be scanned once the user has downloaded and opened the CAMP app.

Once a user has their allergen search codes, they 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 their ACDS provider after patch testing.

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 their account, users can select the “View Your Safe List” icon. This will bring them to their Safe List, a list of products that should not contain their allergens. Products on the Safe List are sorted by alphabetical order by default, but users may also sort by “Brand” or “Last Update Date”.

Can’t find a product on the list? Users can access the “Add Product” feature to enter a product’s information into the system and will be notified once the product is added to CAMP.

Users can search for products in the Search Bar on the “Safe List” Page. Users can also Scan a product barcode when using the CAMP Mobile app, which will then pull up the product and tell the user if that product is safe for them 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.

When accessing specific products on a safe list, 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 them to use.

Example of a safe product:

Example of an unsafe product:

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

Users can view their allergens in their user profile and explore the Learning Center within the CAMP app and website to read more about both their allergens and contact dermatitis.

The Quality of Life feature gives users the ability to track their skin symptoms in the CAMP app so they might better understand how allergic contact dermatitis is affecting their quality of life over time. Recording scores periodically will help identify a user's progress.