Dermatoses among housekeeping personnel

image Housekeepers are exposed to irritants and allergens in their work and are at significant risk for developing occupationally induced contact dermatitis. image We studied housekeepers at the Hershey Medical Center to determine the cause and frequency of contact dermatitis and contact urticaria in these workers. image All housekeepers were examined. Those with hand dermatitis had an extensive history, patch testing, and latex RAST testing. image Eight of 130 had hand dermatitis. None had a relevant positive patch test or positive RAST test. image Of our housekeepers, 6.2% had occupationally induced irritant contact dermatitis. None had allergic contact dermatitis or contact urticaria to latex.