Occupational allergies are those that occur at work. People can be affected depending on the conditions of the place where they work, the substances used during the workday and the health status of the employee.
Most common occupational allergies
- Occupational asthma is one of them, divided into two types. The one characterized by an incubation period is known as allergic asthma. On the other hand, the one caused by irritants is called induced asthma.
- Occupational rhinitis is one of the important ones. Accurate and early identification represents an important and useful step in the early diagnosis and prevention of occupational asthma.
- Among occupational allergic dermatoses, allergic dermatitis, protein dermatitis, urticaria and airborne dermatitis are the most common. Apart from these, irritant dermatitis is also very frequent among workers.
- Among ocular allergies, acute conjunctivitis, atopic and vernal keratoconjunctivitis, giant papillary conjunctivitis and contact dermatoconjunctivitis stand out.
Occupational risk factors increase or decrease depending on the agents to which the worker is exposed. The substances and products that most frequently cause allergic processes are very diverse. However, the most frequent are chemicals, flours, laboratory animal hair, dyes and aerosols.