Cutting fluids. Their use and effects on the skin.

Metalworking fluids are liquids that flow or are sprayed over metal that is being altered mechanically or physically. Cutting fluids tend to be alkaline and are often soap-like. As such they denature keratin, defat the skin, and remove water from it, causing dryness, fissures, and frank eczematization. Cutting oil dermatitis is a difficult problem for the involved worker who must continue to support his family despite the presence of this progressive, pruritic, and painful eruption.