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Occupational dermatoses are any abnormal conditions of the skin caused or aggravated by substances or processes associated with the work environment. Occupational skin diseases (OSDs) are a major public health problem because they are common, are often chronic, and have significant economic impact on society and on workers.1 A thorough knowledge of potential irritants, allergens, and other causative factors in the workplace, as well as the workers’ compensation system, is essential for the dermatologist dealing with occupational dermatoses.
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Paracelsus (1498–1541), in his
Morbis Metallicus, was the first to write about OSD, including changes in the skin caused by salt compounds. Agricola described deep skin ulcers in his book about metalworkers at the same time. Ramazzini (1700), the father of modern occupational medicine, made observations about OSD in his classical work
De Morbis Artificium Diatriba. Sir Percival Pott (1775) described carcinoma of the scrotum among chimney sweeps; at the same time other authors described and studied OSD and contact dermatitis. Earlier texts include Prosser White's
The Dermatergoses or Occupational Afflictions of the Skin (1915), and Schwartz, Tulipan, and Birmingham's
Occupational Diseases of the Skin (1957). Selected current resources for more in-depth information are listed in
eTable 211-0.1.
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