Prevention of hand eczema: Gloves, barrier creams and workers' education

Abstract

To date, there is fair-quality evidence from a large number of countries, where preventive initiatives for occupational contact dermatitis (OCD) in selected settings and professions have proven significantly effective and successful; in this context, early dermatological intervention as well as specific teaching of affected individuals has been demonstrated as pivotal. Undoubtedly, awareness to OCD, its pathogenesis and prevention by those at risk have, as yet, to be improved in all countries. Thus, it is an imminent future task to improve on workers' education, multi-disciplinary approaches being advisable. Prevention may increasingly become a stronghold for dermatology: by their specific knowledge and competence - in close cooperation with other disciplines - dermatologists can save their patients' health and jobs, and thus also save expenses for tax-payers and insurance systems. Of course, preventive intervention needs to be accompanied by common regulatory efforts including evidence-based standards for adequate manufacturing and use of gloves, protective creams and after-work skin care to limit exposure to hazardous substances. © 2011 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.