Document 9JVpxaN4083v2ELrJL7jJ0LkV

464 LOUIS SCHWARTZ Leather gloves offer good protection against trauma and irritant or sen's}! solids and dusts. Leather gloves should be made of soft pliable, washable4'f such as chamois. The seams should be finished and smooth. Coarse seams .p'' irritate the skin, causing dermatitis not only by mechanical friction, but h> bing into the denuded skin the irritant chemical particles that, have falleii the glove at the wrist opening. Gloves for the protection of the hands from: chemicals should reach well up the forearms and should be worn under imp: sleeves fastening at the wrists so as to prevent the entrance of irritant ch'l* into the gloves. Aprons should reach well up to the neck and down befe knees. Aprons are of special value in protecting the body from cutting of fact is again emphasized that protective clothing, to be really protective,uifni cleaned daily and kept in good repair. D. CLEANLINESS Cleanliness is by far the most important single measure for the prevp!i( industrial dermatoses. By cleanliness, we mean not only cleanliness of the^1 but cleanliness of the room, the machines, and the clothes. Floors, walls, al^ ings of rooms in which there are industrial irritants should be wet-cleaned Machines and tools on which industrial irritants are deposited also smB cleaned daily. Adequate washing facilities should be provided for workers;ha industrial skin irritants. Workers whose clothes become soiled with indusS? irritants should be compelled to take supervised shower baths after woij| leaving the factory. It may be necessary to have a double set of locker rod be sure"that"w6rk'efs"ddir6t pufonUirty ^clotbeFbefore'going home. Car;e|r exercised so that the soaps and other cleansers used by workers to remifk dyes, oils, etc., will not themselves cause dermatitis. Workers who become with oils, greases, and dyes are likely, if left to themselves, to use the!ino| able and most rapid-acting solvent to clean the skin. They do not stop jq|| the irritant action of the cleanser. Many cases of dermatitis among yrorkr ` been caused by the cleansers used to clean up before going home. Safet^fin should see that workers use only such cleansers as will not act as skin irritSS In certain occupations where irritants must necessarily oome in conta . the worker's skin, such as in shops where irritant resins are used for laminaf where irritant or sensitizing solutions such as bichromates cpntactg]thg(^ adyisable7^^iHBtlSll7stiAte|iplly'"plaFe'd'^ash'"'bSmrT50"feet:ial};ptlf' worker pe.di^aik more than 50 feet in order to remove irritant.!chem,icJ0| the skin. Such washstands should be equipped with hot and cold running|"iS' suitable dispenser for industrial soap or sulfonated oil, and paper tovyp installations-will-discourage t-he use of solvents, and stEon^nduRtfeialait^gl^i ing solutions to remove soil from the skin. An antiseptic with a. l.pjy$sei$B' index, such as G-ll, incorporated into the soap or other cleanser issofeVftfe prevention of occupational pus infections of the skin, such as cutting-oil|fpi!l `L. Schwartz, Med. Clinics N. America, 26, 1195 (1942). OCCUPATIONAL DERMATOSES 465 gBjpS^mraf"industrial pyodermia. Recently, it has been found possible to in'^SMionirritating form of iodine into industrial cleansers giving them wmas#te,propertie8. The addition of a certain amount of lanolin, cho- (Sefo'SlpSl^hin to soap tends to lessen the defatting action on the skin. lamrJ'S'si hand cleaners are now on the market. Many of them are creams, ^^^pi'entially of a soap and a petroleum solvent, and carbon tetrachloride ^Sj^bif'.'contained in some of them. Compositions such as the above will a'u'sm^P;itis if used frequently during the workday. Some of the waterless hand contain solvents; instead they contain as active ingredients the J||jjp^iilg agents and sulfonated oils. Such compositions are less likely to ^cK^Kis: The waterless hand cleansers are ultimately washed off with 5&atiT at the end of the day or before lunch. Waterless hand cleansers TMp<?d>ttemporarily to remove soil pending the installation of adequate fpmfties and should not be a substitute for them. gi^pial>cleanser for the normal skin should have the following qualities: f|||ely.soluble in hard, soft, cold, or hot water; it should remove foreign ^gjpps without harming the skin; it should not contain harsh abrasives ^^rattbers; it should be handy to use in cake form, or should flow easily joapidispensers if in granulated powder or liquid form; it should not ^glb'ecomeinsect-infested. IS^Soccupations in which excessive scrubbing with such a soap is neces!|!f||premove dyes or tenacious oil, it may be better to add to such a Trfer.-m:^Bmall amount of alkali^such as trisodium phosphate. Whenever such fh^pnSfci;ieleansers are used, it is best to supply the worker with an emolBjtruWbed into the skin after washing to replace the fat removed by 5rker8$who have dermatitis, or sensitive or dry defatted skins, should not j^dmVryindustrial cleanser previously described. It is better for them to jSp^h'eltToapless cleansers, the pH of which is 7 or less. Such a cleanser may ||Srarau&al' sulfonated castor oil containing-from 4 ito. 2 per cent of the icJwetVing'Agents. The cationic wetting agents also have marked germicidal to leave persistent germicidal films on the'skin. They have the antWeioTlb'eing incompatible with soap. pcasswiiiB,.l.i.fer um. ~E.~FROTECTIVE OINTMENTS ointments are low oh the list of preventive measures, they available means of protection. In most occupations the face protective clothing. Often the work must be performed with flapsS^^pesSeinf^msuited-foF-the-operation'JSlinrkeEsj-asi-aiiii'lfitrjlislikmia. ^^^S'dlothing but seem to have a particular liking for the use of iKefuintmfeitS'. When a protective ointment is used, the worker, invariably,. I&soap and water immediately after work, and so removes not, oiMmliSfirbut whatever irritants there are on the skin. This washing- after fW 'Vfcsss:^''- i >' 't