Hairdressing and Dermatitis - CoSHH
Some substances that are frequently used in hairdressers can expose employees to occupational dermatitis. This reaction could be immediate or even due to sensitisation over an extended period of time.
Carrying out a COSHH assessment can help an employer reduce the risks to the health of their staff and customers who may come into contact with such products.
An employer has a legal duty to monitor the health of staff to prevent diseases such as dermatitis and asthma. This can be done by making regular, simple visual checks and if problems are seen then taking precautions to eliminate any further risk.
A case description.
The following report is based on a hairdresser's personal experience at her place of work:
I started experiencing problems with my hands a few years ago. Blisters began to develop on my right index finger. At first I believed it was only a blister and thought that it would soon disappear. But not long after, I began to get blisters on my middle and ring fingers too. I bought some gloves to use when washing clients hair but I felt too embarrassed to wear them.
Because I wore jewellery, I noticed that water would drip from my bracelet onto the open sores which had now appeared on the lower part of my arm and this hurt immensely. My hands became so swollen that my favourite ring had to be cut off my finger. I still did not visit a dermatologist and believed that over time things would improve. I was the only member of staff in the salon with such skin problems. It was becoming increasingly difficult to change my clothes and embarrassing to shake hands.
I had open wounds on my palms and arms which itched and burnt. I was constantly scratching.
Finally, after 2 years of suffering, I visited a dermatologist. He reported my reaction to the trade association and I began a treatment programme. I finally acknowledged that I had a skin disease and needed to do something about it.
My manager at the salon realised that preventative measures were needed to stop this type of disease from developing. Wet work is now distributed evenly amongst employees and when we do it, we use gloves. Prior to putting on the gloves, we use a protective cream to prevent our hands swelling.
We now use a substance to cleanse our skin which has a skin friendly ph and we have a special area in which to wash our hands.
We now use long cuffed domestic gloves when cleaning and disinfecting the salon to avoid splashes to the skin, and when using any kind of chemical we wear latex free disposable gloves.
As a consequence to these changes, my skin condition has now stabilised.
About the Author
Dale Allen delivers CoSHH compliance as one of the UK's leading compliance authorities. Find out more about how you can use his online COSHH365 CoSHH asssessment tool to produce compliant CoSHH assessments with the benefits of a managed Safety Data Sheet library, available at: => http://www.coshh365.com/coshh_assessment.asp
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