Can your occupation affect your skin? Yes.
The unexplained rashes or skin lesions you are seeing may be related to your occupation or workplace exposure. A wide variety and ever expanding list of substances are implicated in workplace related skin conditions. Especially if you have a sensitive skin. The list includes common every day things like food, chemicals , soaps, cleansers and gloves.
Such lesion usually appear in parts of the skin regularly in contact with the suspected substance. Even minute quantities can trigger the skin rash. The variety of skin lesions produced ary from small blisters to widespread dry, itchy eczematous patches. Many of them go unrecognized because the association or linkage with the work or occupation is unrecognized
Here are few examples of work/occupation related skin associations
Workers in a chemical industry (eg acids and alkali) could be exposed to irritant or allergic contact dermatitis. Examples of chemicals are mercury, nickel cobalt, pharmaceuticals and preservatives
Outdoor workers like engineers, construction workers could be prone to sun damage, melanoma and medication related photosensitivity
Laundry workers, housemaids and others exposed to detergents and soaps and could be affected by contact or irritant dermatitis
Sailors or fishermen exposed to cold could get Renaud’s Phenomenon or urticaria (Hives)
Certain fruits like limes can make skin extremely sensitive to sunlight
Exposure to acids and alkali can also
Halogen containing compounds like iodides, bromides, herbicides and greases may lead to what is called oil acne
In general, the following occupations are more likely to be affected by work related skin problems
Painting and decorating
Construction work
Food industry
Health workers (Dental , veterinary, laboratory)
Cleaning
Textile
Printing
Chemical workers
Mechanics
Hair dressers
It is noteworthy that the vast majority of the populace are usually unaffected by exposure to many work place irritants. If you think your work or workplace is affecting your skin, you should see a dermatologist for proper evaluation. A proper evaluation in addition to tests like a Skin Patch Test could help.
