Abstract
Recent studies have shown that some people claim that their skin gases provoke allergy-like reactions in people in their near vicinity. Such a phenomenon or symptom is called 'people allergic to me (PATM)'. Although numerous people suffer from PATM, the actual conditions are unknown. The aim of this study was to investigate the characteristics of human skin profiles in patients with PATM by measuring the dermal emission fluxes of 75 skin gases using passive flux sampler and gas chromatography/mass spectrometry. We found common features in the human skin gas profiles of 20 subjects with PATM, with a significant difference from those of 24 non-PATM subjects: greater emissions of petrochemicals, organosulfur compounds, and some aldehydes and lower emissions of aroma compounds and others. The ratio of toluene to benzaldehyde is considered a vital sign that suggests the fundamental of PATM. These findings indicate that PATM is a medically unexplained phenomenon or symptom worthy of further research, which requires an interdisciplinary approach.