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Skin irritation thresholds in hairdressers: implications for the development of hand dermatitis
H R Smith1, D K B Armstrong, D Holloway
1Contact Dermatitis Clinic, St John's Institute of Dermatology, St Thomas' Hospital, London SE1 7EH, UK.
Background:
Individuals vary in their ability to react to irritants.
Objectives:
To observe the development of clinical hand dermatitis and sensitization prospectively in trainee hairdressers and to compare this with their irritant threshold to sodium lauryl sulphate (SLS).
Methods:
Subjects were patch tested to a limited series of occupational importance and their irritant threshold to SLS was determined; patch testing was repeated 6 months later and subjects were assessed for hand dermatitis.
Results:
The development of hand dermatitis was associated with a lower irritant threshold. A similar association was not found for sensitization.
Conclusions:
The development of clinical dermatitis in prospectively followed subjects with greater irritant reactivity has not previously been identified. The association of greater irritant reactivity with a proinflammatory cytokine polymorphism may partly explain this. Further development of the irritant threshold test could contribute to the identification of non-atopic subjects at risk of occupational skin disease.
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