Hairdressers at risk of allergic diseases

Bleaching agents, widely used in hair saloons, put hair stylists at risk of asthma and inflammation of the eyes, nose and throat.Italian researchers from the Scientific Institute of Pavia enrolled 47 hairdressers who had been exposed to bleaching agents for an average of about 7 years, and who had come to their institute with complaints of respiratory and skin problems. The researchers performed allergy tests and studied lung function in these patients. They found that nearly half of the patients (51 percent) had occupational asthma and that in 88 percent of the asthma patients, the condition was due to persulphate salts, a type of chemical widely used as a bleaching agent. Of the remaining patients diagnosed with asthma, the condition was associated with exposure to permanent hair dyes in about 8 percent and to latex in 4 percent.In addition, more than half of the patients diagnosed with asthma (54 percent) were also diagnosed with occupational rhinitis - inflammation of the eyes, nose and throat - that was due to persulphate salts in 85 percent of the cases. One third of all hairdressers (36 percent) seen at the institute were diagnosed with occupational dermatitis.They have described the largest population of hairdressers with documented occupational asthma and rhinitis, published to date. The agents most frequently involved were persulphates salts, and that besides the well described occupational risk of skin problems, these workers are also at high risk to develop occupational asthma. The researchers emphasised the importance of promoting preventive programmes for hairdressers, which include environmental measures and specific respiratory surveillance programmes.