Intended for healthcare professionals

Papers

Impact of preventive strategies on trend of occupational skin disease in hairdressers: population based register study

BMJ 2002; 324 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.324.7351.1422 (Published 15 June 2002) Cite this as: BMJ 2002;324:1422
  1. Heinrich Dickel, dermatologista,
  2. Oliver Kuss, biostatisticiana,
  3. Anne Schmidt, governmental physicianb,
  4. Thomas L Diepgen (thomas_diepgen@med.uni-heidelberg.de), professor of clinical social medicinea
  1. a Centre of Occupational and Environmental Dermatology, Department of Clinical Social Medicine, University Hospital of Heidelberg, D-69115 Heidelberg, Germany
  2. b Department of Occupational Medicine, Bavarian Health and Safety Executive Nuremberg, D-90429 Nuremberg, Germany
  1. Correspondence to: T L Diepgen
  • Accepted 6 December 2001

Hairdressing is one of the occupations most hazardous to the skin.1 Various efforts have been made in Germany in the past 10 years to reduce the incidence of occupational skin diseases among hairdressers. 2 3 Two legislative regulations introduced as Technical Rules for Hazardous Substances 530 “Hairdressing trade” and 531 “Endangerment of the skin by work in the wet environment (wet work)” came fully into force in September 1992 and September 1996.

Because of the high cost of medical treatment, professional retraining, and disability pensions for hairdressers with an occupational skin disease, the Statutory Accident Insurance Institution for the Health and Welfare Services (workers' compensation board) coupled the new technical rules with information campaigns and passed a resolution in 1994 to strengthen “secondary individual prevention,” in accordance with the Ordinance on Industrial Disease. …

View Full Text