Answer: Dermatitis literally means "skin swelling." That describes how your skin reacts when you "contact" irritating substances. (Thus, you have "contact dermatitis" -- not something caused from poor nutrition or health issue.) You could be allergic to cleaning compounds, extremely cold temperatures, jewelry, nail polish, hand creams, soap, etc. I found I was allergic to latex gloves! I didn't figure it out for two years, and my hands were itchy and irritated the whole time. When I stopped wearing the gloves, the dermatitis went away. In the meantime, try cortisone cream, which you can get without a prescription. It gives immediate relief from itching. There's also a great lotion that I swear by... it's called Amlactyn (or Amlactin). Many diabetics use it for their skin.