Occupational dermatitis in a 10-year material.

This study included 1,752 patients considered to have occupational dermatoses. The most common diagnosis was contact dermatitis. The dermatitis was of an allergic type in three-quarters of men and in half of women. One-fifth of the women with irritant contact dermatitis had an atopic history. Contact dermatitis was localized on the hands in 94% of women and in 84% of men. The most common allergens in men were chromium, rubber and plastic, and in women nickel, rubber and chromium. Chromium allergy occurred in four-fifths of the men in the building, metal and tanning industries. In one-fifth of the women, nickel allergy developed in cleaning work. Rubber allergy developed in the rubber industry in one-fifth of the cases. Half of the women with contact dermatitis were engaged in either nursing or cleaning work. A follow-up 2-3 years after treatment of 555 patients with contact dermatitis was completed by means of questionnaires. The eczema was healed in one-quarter of the patients, one-half had periodic symptoms, and one-quarter had permanent symptoms. The prognosis was the same for those who changed their work or stopped working as it was for those who continued their eczema-inducing work.