[Use of barrier creams in occupational health: utility, limits and actual diffusion in clinical practice]

Use of barrier creams among workers exposed to chemical risk has changed during last years and actually seems not to be very largely widespread even if there are not many up to date data about it. We report a research carried out evaluating effective presence in pharmacological market of barrier creams, their chemical characteristics, their composition, their prize. We analyzed the prescription of barrier creams made by 45 Occupational Doctors active in 2730 firms, their knowledge of chemical and pharmacological aspects which can make the difference among creams. We also considered motivations of their frequent or rare barrier cream prescription.