Hand Eczema in Hairdressers?

Hairdressing is an occupation traditionally associated with a high incidence of hand eczema. Patients in this study were selected front those seen, over a two year period in the Contact Dermatitis Clinic at St. John's Hospital for Diseases of the Skin, London, with a history of hand eczema. Hairdressers were compared with a control group of housewives and with another group of patients of varied occupation and who presented at the Clinic with hand eczema during the same period. The possible reasons for the nickel sensitivity and its implications are discussed.