Hairdressers 'at risk from eczema'

Hairdressers may be at risk from eczema from using scissors

Hairdressers are among those most at risk of suffering skin problems due to the workplace, a study has claimed.

Bar staff and chefs are also at risk of occupational contact dermatitis - a form of eczema - because of nickel in the tools of their trade, say researchers at the University of Manchester.

They found women were two to three times more likely to be affected by nickel sensitivity.

Hairdressers suffered the most cases - 24 per 100,000 workers each year - which may be due to their use of scissors, other metal tools and chemicals.

They were followed by bar staff (4.7 cases per 100,000 workers), chefs and cooks (4.4) and checkout operators (2.8).

But the researchers have stressed the link may just be coincidental in some cases.

The findings, published in the journal Occupational and Environmental Medicine, were based on reports submitted by skin specialists and occupational health doctors to national surveillance schemes.

In one study - by Epiderm - there were over 12,500 cases of skin disease between February 1993 and January 1999, of which almost 80% were cases of contact dermatitis.

In almost 1,200 cases, nickel was suspected by the doctors as a cause, averaging around 200 cases a year.

The authors said bar staff and cashiers handled money for a living, but added it had yet to be proven that a sufficient amount of nickel was released from this to cause dermatitis in susceptible people.

The report said: "European Union regulations limit the amount of nickel released from products which come into prolonged contact with the skin, but some nickel-sensitive patients may still react to this level of nickel exposure."