[Cement as a metal allergy-inducing agent]

Three groups of patients suffering from eczema, exposed to cement, have been examined. Altogether there were 293 subjects. No particularly strong sensitizing properties of the Polish cement have been found. This, however, calls for confirmation. Differences, hitherto unknown, between masons and concretors have been found at the middle stage of eczema incubation and at middle age when occupational skin lesions occur, indicating a clearly higher allergy risk in concretors. On the other hand the sensitivity to particular metals has been similar in all building workers and did not differ from that in other countries.