Chemicals and Drugs

Irritants

Drugs that act locally on cutaneous or mucosal surfaces to produce inflammation; those that cause redness due to hyperemia are rubefacients; those that raise blisters are vesicants and those that penetrate sebaceous glands and cause abscesses are pustulants; tear gases and mustard gases are also irritants.

National Library of MedicineMedical Subject Headings2026

Structured Summary

Abstract

Drugs that act locally on cutaneous or mucosal surfaces to produce inflammation; those that cause redness due to hyperemia are rubefacients; those that raise blisters are vesicants and those that penetrate sebaceous glands and cause abscesses are pustulants; tear gases and mustard gases are also irritants.

MeSH Record

Classification

Related Concepts

Knowledge Graph

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MeSH Record

Synonyms

9 entry terms
  • Irritant
  • Counterirritant
  • Counterirritants
  • Pustulant
  • Pustulants
  • Rubefacient
  • Rubefacients
  • Vesicant
  • Vesicants

MeSH Record

Aspects Covered

24 allowable subheadings

Indexed with the subheadings administration & dosage, adverse effects, agonists, analysis, antagonists & inhibitors, blood, cerebrospinal fluid, chemical synthesis, chemistry, classification, economics, history, immunology, isolation & purification, metabolism, pharmacokinetics, pharmacology, poisoning, radiation effects, standards, supply & distribution, therapeutic use, toxicity, urine.

MeSH Record

History Note

RUBEFACIENTS & VESICANTS were see under IRRITANTS 1963-79

MeSH Hierarchy

Tree Numbers

  1. D27.720.400
  2. D27.888w.569.300

AMA Style

References

  1. National Library of Medicine. Irritants. Medical Subject Headings (MeSH). 2026. Unique ID D007509. http://id.nlm.nih.gov/mesh/2026/D007509
  2. Irritants. In: Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q2142251