Occupational allergic contact dermatitis: a case report

Allergic contact dermatitis is an inflammatory cutaneous reaction which occurs after immunological sensitization to the contact substance and clinically manifests with pruritic, erythematous, indurated, scaly plaques or cutaneous xerosis, thickening and scaling in case of chronic exposure. It is a T-cell mediated type IV reaction (delayed hypersensitivity response) and there have been discovered over 4000 contact allergens. As 30 percent of all occupational diseases involve cutaneous manifestations, irritant and contact dermatitis making up over 90 percent of instances of occupational skin diseases, the occupational doctor plays a key role in diagnosis and management of such patients. Prevention is the key in the treatment of this condition, thus recognizing the workplace risk factors, reducing antigen sources and providing appropriate protective equipment should be of utmost importance. Next, we present the case of a 48-year-old woman, who works as a technician in an aluminum manufacturing plant and who developed pruritic eczematous lesions located on the upper limbs, in order to review the risk factors and consequences of work-environmental exposure to allergens.