Her Hand Eczema Lasted a Year, and the Culprit Was Hiding in Her Moist Toilet Paper

For a year, a 53-year-old teacher in Madrid tried cream after cream for eczema on both hands. Nothing worked for long. The answer turned out to be in her bathroom: the moist toilet paper she used every day.

Dermatologists at Hospital Universitario Fundación Alcorcón and Hospital Universitario Ramón y Cajal described the case in the journal Contact Dermatitis, writing that "to our knowledge, this is the first reported case" of allergic contact dermatitis caused by benzyl alcohol in moist toilet paper. The ingredient is common in cosmetics and medicines, and it is the American Contact Dermatitis Society's Allergen of the Year for 2026.