OCCUPATIONAL DERMATITIS

摘要

Many dermatoses may have occupational relevance, but the overwhelming majority are dermatitic. In current terminology "dermatitis" is used synonymously with "eczema" to describe inflammatory reactions in the skin with a particular spectrum of clinical and histopathological characteristics. A dermatitis may be entirely endogenous (constitutional) or be entirely exogenous (contact). Exogenous dermatitis may be caused by irritant or allergic contact reactions. A dermatitis often has a multifactorial aetiology and may be aggravated by the presence of pathogens such as Staphylococcus aureus. When considering a hand eczema it is always worth investigating the possible role of contributory factors and assessing the importance of these. Atopic hand eczema is a common example of an endogenous eczema in which exogenous factors normally compound the situation.