Occupational Skin Disease

Occupational Skin Disease

The bare skin plays important role in our body as first hygienic layer and as first layer of coating and protection against external dangers such as foreign bodies, irritants, and avoidance of direct injuries to our muscles and bones. Where in fact, in workplaces, generally, skins were given less attention when it comes to protection unlike eyes, breathing, and limbs as they are covered with protection solely protecting the specific parts used for performing their given task. 

Especially in jobs in certain fields such as construction, agriculture, health care and medical institutions, cosmetology, and auto repair as there are reports according to National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) stating that there are more than 13 million workers in U.S, from those mentioned fields, are exposed to chemicals and irritants thay can be absorbed through skin with or without protection. These line of jobs has higher tendency compared to others to develop skin conditions and diseases because of the given reason, called occupational skin disease. An occupational skin disease is a skin condition where a skin (by part or wholly) suffer under a certain skin condition caused by patient's previous work activity, and reasoning that one's skin disease is caused by genetics and non-occupational factors still do exist is one way to view one.  

Statistics on at Risk
According to Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH)

• All occupational illnesses report from years 2012 to 2014 from THRO GP Scheme survery are accounted majority by skin diseases of every 1% of total days absence due to sickness of such.
  
  
• From the same year, the Labour Force Survey has found out that there are 20,000 workers who worked in last one year having skin problems which they believe caused unproductivity as well as worsening of their work.
  
  
• In the same year, there are 1,336 cases of occupational skin disease among workers reported by dermatologists and physicians in work places as regulation in some countries. 
  
  
• 79% or 1,058 of those reported cases were linked to contact dermatitis and 4% or 49 of them were non-cancerous dermatoses while the other 11% or 229 were said to be skin cancer. 
  
  
• Soaps, cleaners, long hours of exposure to water, and rubber chemicals are common causes of these said major diseases among workers from reports of dermatologists and occupational physicians in the past years. 

Causes of Occupational Skin Disease

Most skin diseases occur when one's unprotected skin make direct contact with a corrosive or hazardous chemical or irritant, the skin would make contact with such as actions such as escalated: 

• submerge skin to chemical and irritant
• having direct and unprotected contact with contaminated material and tools
• accidentally splashed

Types of skin disorders

• Skin Cancer
  
  
• Contact Dermatitis
  
  
• Eczema
  
  
• Contact Urticaria
  
  
• Hyperpigmentation
  
  
• Infections and Acne Development

Call your Lawyer 

If ever one of your family members or closests friend has been involved in a workplace accident or have developed a condition who have sustained either minor or significant injuries and even a possible disability because of the employer that has shown apparent negligence and recklessness and caused an accident and render the victim to have life-threatening injuries and condition, you can always refer help from a professional experienced injury lawyer to smoothen things out as your hired lawyers can help you decide from their factual and legal advices. 

Ryan LLP is an Ohio based injury lawyer that represents victims of personal injury caused by car accidents, medical malpractice due to medical professional's negligence, and even wrongful death against large companies, agencies and even individuals. We have 40 years of experience doing our service in this field and evidently successful with our civil litigations. Call our office now for free legal consultation.