Jan. 25, 2010 -- Exotic wooden toilet seats and harsh chemical cleaners may be behind a new resurgence of toilet seat dermatitis, a skin condition once thought to be wiped out in the U.S.

A new study documents five recent cases of toilet seat dermatitis in children, some of whom suffered for years before getting a proper diagnosis.

“Toilet seat dermatitis is one of those legendary conditions described in medical textbooks and seen in underdeveloped countries, but one that younger pediatricians have not come across in their daily practice,” researcher Bernard Cohen, MD, director of pediatric dermatology at Johns Hopkins Children’s Center, says in a news release. “If our small analysis is any indication of what’s happening, we need to make sure the condition is on every pediatrician’s radar.”