Daffodil International University
Faculty of Science and Information Technology => Environmental Science and Disaster Management => Topic started by: shimo on September 08, 2013, 06:39:51 PM
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Clothing can be a cause of occupational dermatitis. The source of dermatitis can be the fabric
itself, chemical additives used in processing the fabric and hardware and fasteners. The
physical or occlusive effect of clothing
can result in dermatitis. Contaminated clothing from
workplace chemicals, friction from clothing rubbing the skin, or heat retention from
perspiration- soaked clothing in hot working environments can cause distinctive dermatologic
conditions.
Textile fiber can be natural, synthetic or a combination of the two materials. Natural fiber is
proteinaceous such as silk or wool or made from cellulose plant material such as cotton or
linen. Man-made fibers such as rayon and acetate are cellulose polymers. Synthetic polymers
include nylon, polyester, fiberglass, rubber and spandex.
All fibers can cause irritant and allergic contact dermatitis although allergic contact dermatitis
is rare. For instance, people with topic dermatitis may find some fabrics such as wool
irritating their skin lesions but it is not an allergy. Both irritant and allergic contact dermatitis
can have the same morphology and pattern of lesions and may require patch testing to
distinguish the difference between the two conditions. The distribution of the skin reaction is
usually where the garments fit snugly and is worse in areas of friction and perspiration.
Allergic or irritant reactions to clothing is more often a result of the rubber materials,
formaldehyde finishing resins, chemical additives, dyes, glues and tanning agents used in
processing the fabric or clothing or metallic fasteners. Elastic in clothing material such as
brassieres and the waistband in underwear or pants can cause contact dermatitis where there is
contact of the clothing item with the skin. The areas involved are subjected to friction and
perspiration, which contributes to the uncomfortable skin lesions.
Textile formaldehyde resins are used in materials such as cotton or cotton/polyester blend
fabrics to make the fabric wrinkle-resistant. There are nine formaldehyde resins in current use
in the United States and most do not release a significant amount of formaldehyde as
older formulations in the past. An allergic reaction may actually be due to the resin and not the
released formaldehyde.