Skin Reactivity during the Menstrual Cycle

Clinical experience has suggested, that menstruation influences the state of hypersensitiveness. The effect of the reproductive function on the skin is illustrated by the pigmentation and growth of hair which occur during puberty and pregnancy. Furthermore, a number of cutaneous anomalies and changes are thought to be associated with the menstrual cycle (1, 2). Herpetic lesions are so common during menstruation (3) that a special form of this eruption is recognized as herpes menstrualis. It has been suggested that allergy plays a rôle in this types of herpes (4). Acne is frequently observed in girls at puberty and is accentuated during menstruation. Unusual sensitivity to light on the first and, at times, on the second day of menstruation has also been described. In regard to allergic phenomena, urticaria, angioneurotic oedema and various forms of diffuse or circumscribed erythemas have been reported as occurring only during menstruation and pregnancy. It has also been suggested (5) that most instances of tuberculin allergy in females coincide with some phase of active ovarian function.