Eczema is Common Among Agricultural Workers in Harvest Season
10/17/2006
Autumn in the Northern Hemisphere is harvest season. Families and friends in many countries gather to give thanks and share delicious dinners made with freshly harvested crops and, if you’re in the U.S., Canada or the U.K., the traditional turkey. Even the dessert is made with just-picked pumpkins. However, for the agricultural workers and farmers who supply these feasts there is one thing they’re not thankful for – the effects the harsh chemicals sprayed on the crops can have on their skin. Farmers are in need of effective dry skin care and eczema treatment.
According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), workers in agriculture, forestry and fishing have a higher incidence of skin disease per capita than any other occupation. The most common causes of occupational eczema are chemicals, and agricultural workers are no exception.
The chemicals and pesticides used to spray fields are definitely dangerous. Not only do they damage the skin, they enter the body through the skin and inhalation and cause serious toxicity. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates that up to 20,000 pesticide poisonings occur each year among U.S. agricultural workers.
Although some chemical damage is caused by sensitivity, you do not have to be allergic to a chemical to have it affect you. In fact, over 80 percent of eczema and other skin diseases in the work environment are simply the result of direct chemical action on the skin. The chemicals strip away the natural oils leaving the skin dry, damaged and vulnerable to everything it contacts.
Standards have been determined for gloves that protect the skin from many chemicals, but this does not extend to pesticides –the most common type of chemical an agricultural worker has to worry about. The gloves that are available may help avoid cuts and scratches, but they will not protect against contact with the pesticides themselves. Studies are underway to resolve the problem.
Until the research is complete and solutions have been found, the skin needs protection. Thousands of doctors are now recommending a shielding lotion for dry skin care and eczema treatment and it may be just the thing agricultural workers need.
A good shielding lotion bonds with the outer layer of the skin to form a protective layer that keeps the natural moisture in and the chemicals out. Used alone or under gloves, a shielding lotion will help avoid the dry skin and eczema of the season and give agriculture workers one more thing to be thankful for this holiday season.
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