Abstract
Between 1981 and 1988, 55 hairdressers were assessed for cutaneous problems in the Occupational Health Clinic at St Michael's Hospital (Toronto, Ontario, Canada). All were patch tested with a standard screening tray and 53 were further tested with one of two sets of hairdressing chemicals. Eighty percent had allergic contact dermatitis; 51% of the hairdressers had a positive patch test response to paraphenylenediamine and 24% to glyceryl monothioglycolate. There was no increase in epicutaneous test reactions to nickel in the hairdressers in comparison with a referent population. Paraphenylenediamine, glyceryl monothioglycolate, and formaldehyde are suggested as the three agents most useful in the initial screening of hairdressers with possible allergic contact dermatitis.
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