Professional skin diseases among nurses

Profesionalne kožne bolesti kao i sve druge profesionalne bolesti su posljedica utjecaja štetnih čimbenika iz radne sredine. Najčešća profesionalna kožna bolest je kontaktni dermatitis. Cilj: Kako medicinske sestre pripadaju u rizičnu skupinu obzirom na radne uvjete i svakodnevno korištenje zaštitne opreme cilj ovog rada je ispitati utjecaj nekih štetnih čimbenika iz radne sredine medicinskih sestara koji utječu na pojavu profesionalnog kontaktnog dermatitisa. Ispitanici i metode: Istraživanje je provedeno na 197 nasumično odabranih medicinskih sestara u devet hrvatskih bolnica (četri opće bolnice, tri specijalne bolnice i dva klinička bolnička centra). Istraživanje je provedeno putem anketnog Upitnika o kožnim smetnjama načinjenog u Hrvatskom zavodu za zaštitu zdravlja i sigurnost na radu. Rezultati: Iz provedenog istraživanja, dokazano je da je učestalost profesionalnih kožnih bolesti veća kod zaposlenih u zdravstvu nego u općoj populaciji. Također se može uočiti da medicinske sestre koje u svom svakodnevnom radu dnevno nose rukavice 60 i više minuta koriste rukavice od latexa i kombinaciju rukavica u više od 95% slučajeva. Zanimljivo je da medicinske sestre koje vremenski duže nose rukavice na svom radnom mjestu češće imaju alergiju na latex ili neki drugi sastojak gume 9,85% u odnosu na one sestre koje rukavice nose kraće. Što se tiče korištenja pojedinih tipova rukavica ovisno o dokazanoj alergiji na latex u medicinskih sestara može se uočiti da od 17 osoba koje su alergične na lateks njih čak 17,6% i dalje nosi rukavice od lateksa, a 76,5% nosi kombinaciju rukavica koje najčešće uključuju između ostalih i rukavice izrađene od latexa. Kad je riječ o dostupnosti zaštitnih sredstava za njegu kože ruku ukupno 60% ispitanika navodi da su im vrlo rijetko ili uopće nisu osigurana zaštitna sredstva. Zaključak: Kako vrlo mali broj ispitanika ide na periodičke preglede kod specijaliste medicine rada i na redovite preglede kod dermatologa ono što svakako treba preporučiti je interdisciplinarni pristup profesionalnim kožnim bolestima, te izrada smjernica (preporuka) s ciljem sprečavanja razvoja ove profesionalne bolesti.Occupational skin diseases as well as all other occupational diseases occur as a result of occupational exposures to the working environment. The most common occupational skin disease is contact dermatitis. Objective: As a result of the working conditions and daily use of protective equipment nurses belong to a risk group to develop occupational dermatitis. The aim of this study was to examine the influence of some harmful factors in the work environment of nurses that affect the occurrence of occupational contact dermatitis. Patients and Methods: The study was conducted in 197 randomly selected nurses in nine Croatian hospitals (four general hospitals, three specialty hospitals and two clinical hospital centers). The research was conducted through a Questionnaire about skin disorders issued from the Croatian Institute for Health Protection and Safety at Work. Results: From this research, it has been shown that the incidence of occupational skin diseases is greater among employees in health care than the general population. It can also be noted that nurses who wear gloves 60 minutes or more in their daily work mostly use latex gloves or mixed gum gloves in more than 95% of cases. Interestingly, the nurses who wear gloves longer time in their workplace often have an allergy to latex or other ingredient of gum; 9.85% compared to the nurses who wear gloves shorter time. In compare to wearing the certain types of gloves depending on the proven allergy to latex in the nurses it can be seen that of 17 nurses who are allergic to latex as many as 17.6% continue to wear latex gloves and 76.5% carries a mixture of different gum gloves which usually include, among others, gloves made of latex. When it comes to the availability of protective equipment for the hand skin care, 60% of respondents stated that they are rarely or not at all provided with protective equipment. Conclusion: As few patients are going to periodic check-up to the specialist of occupational medicine and on regular visit to a dermatologist, we should recommend the interdisciplinary approach to occupational skin diseases, and the issuing of guidelines (recommendations) in order to prevent the development of occupational diseases