Dermatitis in Teachers

To estimate the occurrence of skin symptoms and the prevalence of contact allergy to occupational allergens, 84 male woodwork teachers were interviewed, clinically examined and patch tested.  The tests included a supplemented European Standard series and acetone extracts of wood dust of pine, spruce, juniper and birch.  In addition, 10 colophony-allergic volunteers were tested with dilution series of wood dust extracts.  Major colophony compounds in the dust extracts were analyzed with gas chromatography.  We found a high 1-year period prevalence of 19%.  Contact allergy was diagnosed to several allergens in the working environment e.g., benzisothiazolin-3-one, nickel, formaldehyde and colophony.  A clear relationship between patch test reactions to colophony and to coniferous woods, especially pine, was found.  Exposure to wood dust at work caused dermatitis in a colophony-sensitized teacher.

The preceding abstract was reprinted with permission from Section 35 (Occupational Health and Industrial Medicine) of Excerpta Medica.

Skin Symptoms and Contact Allergy in Woodwork Teachers - Meding B., Ahman M. and Karlberg A.T - Department Occupational Dermatology, National Institute Occupational Hlth, S-171 84 Solna SWE Contact Dermatitis 1996 34/3 (185-190)

Art Hazard News, Volume 19, No. 3, 1996

This article was originally printed for Art Hazard News, © copyright Center for Safety in the Arts 1996. It appears on CAR courtesy of the Health in the Arts Program, University of Illinois at Chicago, who have curated a collection of these articles from their archive which are still relevant to artists today.