Allergy invades hairdressers
Products wick, straightening, bleaching … and can handle Barbers inhaling various chemicals.Many can cause skin allergies but also respiratory. The kings of scissors have any reasons to get white hair? The point with Doctissimo.
Although much of allergies and occupational asthma remains unknown, several risk occupations have been identified. -Among them, the salon professionals are not spared.
1. The six occupations most exposed
According to the National Observatory of asthma professionnels1 Six occupations are well over half of cases of occupational asthma: bakers, health professions, painters, wood workers, cleaners and hairdressers.
The hair salons are so allergic to places that are not devoid of risks. Nearly 8% of occupational asthma concern hairdressers and 18% when considering only women. This proportion is explained by the large number of chemicals, irritants or allergens in shampoos, perms, hair coloring products (persulfates), tools, metal (nickel), hair straightening products, fixatives, dyes … How to identify The main culprits in this “huge chemical soup”? A large study italienne2 finally brings some answers.
2. Persulfates, mother of all allergies?
The Italian doctors have identified 47 consult their hairdressers from allergy unit and pulmonary between 1996 and 2004. In each, testing and diagnosis of asthma research offending allergens were performed. Aged an average of 23 years (17-52 years), the vast majority were women (43 out of 47). More than half were diagnosed as victims of occupational asthma due to ammonium persulphate in 21 of them to dye and latex twice once. Among those with asthma, 13 also suffered from an occupational rhinitis, mainly due to persulphate still there. Contained in many cosmetics, these products are widely used in powder form used for bleaching. Allergies related skin near a hairdresser in four.
Faced with persulphate, the first symptoms of asthma intervene only several years after the first exposure. The latency period (such period of awareness) and would require prolonged exposure, possibly for years.
Tags: Allergy, haidressers