Hand dermatitis in the pottery industry

The "Jewelry Addict": Allergic Contact Dermatitis from Repetitive Multiple Children's Jewelry Exposures

A 9-year-old girl with atopic dermatitis developed persistent plaques on the lips, hands, and fingers that were unresponsive to topical steroids. Her mother reported that she was "addicted" to costume jewelry and developed rashes in reaction to a number of adornments, ranging from rubber bracelets to costume metal jewelry and belt buckles. A careful history of jewelry exposures was taken and patch testing was performed to identify allergenic sources. Patch testing revealed allergy to nickel, gold, and thiuram mix. The case illustrates the importance of investigating a range of different types of allergens when evaluating for jewelry sensitivity in children with frequent use of accessories, including rubber jewelry, plastics, dyed yarns, beads, metals, and ceramics. This article provides an overview of jewelry allergies and the potential allergens requiring screening.

Fragrance allergy and hand eczema - a review

Because hand eczema and fragrance allergy are common both among patients and in the general population, simultaneous occurrence by chance must be expected. Fragrances are ubiquitous and a part of many domestic and occupational products intended for hand exposure. The present review is based on a systematic literature research using both a manual and a Medline based search. The search identified 39 studies, including epidemiological patch test studies, general population patch test studies, case studies, and studies of occupational groups. The published data indicate a possible association between fragrance allergy and hand eczema. In future studies, a more detailed exposure assessment is needed, combined with patch test studies among patients with hand eczema tested with relevant fragrance allergens, as well as experimental control exposure studies to specific fragrance allergens on the hands. As exposures to fragrances on the hands are often simultaneous exposures to irritants, this combined exposure approach needs to be considered.

Transient re-emergence of oil of turpentine allergy in the pottery industry

Allergy to oil of turpentine has diminished largely due to the use of cheaper substitutes in many occupations. However, 2 particular areas still reliant on real oil of turpentine are those of the perfume industry and ceramic decoration. We report 24 cases of hand dermatitis in pottery workers involved in ceramic decoration, paintresses, liners, gilders, enamellers and a fine china painter, seen in a 6-month period following a change from Portuguese to Indonesian turpentine, of whom 14 were sensitive to Indonesian turpentine, 8 to alpha-pinene, 4 to delta-3-carene and 2 positive to turpentine peroxides. Previous reports suggest that delta-3-carene is the main allergen and reports of sensitivity to alpha-pinene in the absence of sensitivity to turpentine peroxide, in particular to the hydroperoxide of delta-3-carene, are few. Turpentine allergy continues to be a problem in the pottery industry and is more common than allergy to the heavy metals of the colours used in ceramic decoration. alpha-Pinene, an unusual allergen, appears to be the most common in our area. Reversion to Portuguese turpentine seems to have alleviated the problem.