OCCUPATIONAL SKIN DISEASES IN CONSTRUCTION WORKERS AT A LARGE CONSTRUCTION SITE

Mubashar Mashqoor Mir, Mohammad Sarwar Mir*, Nazish Mir and Soheb Mashqoor Mir

ABSTRACT

Occupational risks have been classed as the tenth leading cause of morbidity and mortality and occupational skin diseases are important problem in the construction industries. The current study was conducted to see the type of skin diseases among construction workers at large construction site. It was a cross sectional study conducted at construction site of a cement factory in Srinagar in May 2014. All the 200 workers present at the construction site were enrolled in the study. History was taken, physical examination and laboratory tests were done to see the presence of skin diseases. Among 200 workers only 28.0% used protective measure and 60% have suferred with at least one form of skin disease. Among them different diseases were found in following percentages i.e. irritant contact dermatitis (ICD) (35%), allergic contact dermatitis (ACD) (26.7%), acne (15.8%), seborrheic dermatitis (15%), burn/scald (6.6%), accidental injury (10%), scabies (24.16%) and fungal infection (28.3%). Construction workers bear a great burden of skin diseases, among which contact dermatitis is the most common and other skin diseases include fungal infection, scabies and acne. These occupational skin diseases may be prevented by providing improved work place, protective means, health education, adequate health services and improving professional skills.

Keywords: Construction, occupational, skin, diseases, workers.