Insufficient evidence to determine the effectiveness of measures to prevent occupational irritant hand dermatitis
- Suffolk Community Healthcare Dermatology Department, Ipswich Hospital, Ipswich, UK
- Correspondence to Jill Peters
Suffolk Community Healthcare Dermatology Department, Ipswich Hospital, Heath Road, Ipswich IP4 5PD, UK; jill.peters{at}suffolkpct.nhs.uk
- Published Online First 24 September 2010
An essential read for all healthcare workers
Occupational irritant hand dermatitis (OIHD) is an important cause of discomfort in the working population. It is an inflammatory reaction of the skin occurring in people who come in contact with water, detergents, chemicals and other irritants in their working day. The incidence rate of hand dermatitis was 5.5 cases/1000 persons-years (women = 9.6 and men = 4.0).1 It was stated that the high-incidence rate was associated with the female sex, contact allergy, atopic eczema and wet work. This is very pertinent to nurses and other healthcare workers when you consider the implications of constant hand washing for infection control, use of gloves and antiseptic detergents that are used to reduce infections across the NHS.
This systematic review was very thorough and …
