To assess the consequences of oxidative stress in allergic and irritant contact dermatitis, we compared the iron level, unsaturated iron-binding capacity, total iron binding capacity, the percentage saturation of iron-binding capacity, the amount of diene conjugates as well as the amounts of total glutathione, reduced glutathione, oxidized glutathione, and the oxidized glutathione/reduced glutathione ratio in skin homogenate from lesional and nonlesional skin. Lesional skin samples were obtained from positive patch test sites to 5% NiSO4 in five subjects, and from chronic contact dermatitis lesions on the hands, which had exacerbated over 3--9 wk in six subjects. Contact dermatitis caused at least a 4-fold increase in the iron level in the lesional skin area compared with the nonlesional skin area (p < 0.02). The increase in the iron level depended on the duration of contact dermatitis and was accompanied by high unsaturated iron-binding capacity and total iron-binding capacity values in the positive patch test sites (p < 0.05), and by a high percentage saturation value in the chronic contact dermatitis lesions (p < 0.05). We found high indices for iron, total iron-binding capacity and diene conjugates in the apparently healthy skin of the patients with persistent contact dermatitis that significantly (p < 0.05) exceeded the corresponding values in the patients with only patch test reactions. In summary, we have succeeded in providing evidence that generalized oxidative damage of the skin occurs as a consequence of contact dermatitis in a restricted area.