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Your skin can encounter various hazards in the workplace and become irritated or develop an allergic reaction known as dermatitis. Common symptoms of dermatitis include dryness, redness, itchiness and your skin can become blistered or swollen. Dermatitis can be caused by substances that dry or damage the skin, by frequent contact with water, or contact with sensitising agents (e.g. COSHH hazard statement H317).

Do you work with dermatitis hazards?

You might be at risk of dermatitis if you:

• frequently wet or wash your hands
• directly touch or get splashed by detergents, solvents, oils, inks, adhesives, paints, corrosives, acids or some foodstuffs
• use gloves, but they don’t consistently keep your hands dry and clean

The risk might be higher if you:

• do tasks which are harsh on the skin, involving repeated, direct contact with rough or sharp surfaces which compromise or damage the naturally protective surface of the skin

• immerse your hand(s) in substances, rather than use a tool to keep a safe distance

• have a pre-existing medical condition which thins, cracks or otherwise compromises your skin

What to do next

Explain to your manager or supervisor that you are experiencing skin symptoms. The risk assessment covering the work activity must identify hazards that can affect skin, and should identify how exposure risks are managed.

Dermatitis control measures could include:

• Eliminate the substance if possible, carry out a COSHH assessment
• Substituting harsh substances with gentler alternatives
• Re-designing the process or task to prevent or minimise contact with chemicals or water
• Using a hand-held tool to keep a safe distance between your skin and the hazard – not using your hand as the tool

If these steps aren’t possible, or don’t reduce contact and risk enough, then additional measures could include:

• washing contamination from skin promptly

• better arrangements for drying hands thoroughly

• providing protective gloves and/or clothing

• making sure clothing/gloves are used and stored correctly, and replaced when necessary

• supplying moisturising pre-work and after-work creams

• using health surveillance to monitor skin condition

What else to do

Next contact your local Health & Safety Co-ordinator and ask them for advice. Help is also available from HSS’s Liaison Advisor for your area and the HSS Topic Leads for specific topics, including hazardous substances (CoSHH), Laboratories, Manual Handling, Moulds, Pesticides via safety@reading.ac.uk

Health surveillance

If there is still a significant risk of dermatitis, or if the individual is sensitive due to a medical condition, then health surveillance will probably be required.  Health surveillance for dermatitis involves a visual inspection of the worker’s skin – usually the hands. It must be carried out by a competent person – typically the University’s Occupational Health specialists. The requirement for dermatitis health surveillance must be recorded on the risk assessment, and the manager or supervisor of the worker should arrange the health surveillance by completing a health surveillance enrolment form and sending this to the Occupational Health Service.

Sources of information

• H&SS team leads for chemicals and PPE
• Code of Practice on COSHH
• Code of Practice on PPE, including gloves
• Occupational Health for referral and surveillance enrolment