ABSTRACT
Glove dermatitis is a frequent finding in certain job-related skin reactions for which some professions are at risk: the building trades, the mechanical industries, cleaning, housekeeping, hairdressing, and particularly the medical and paramedical professions.1 Protective gloves often come in contact with damaged or inflamed skin, which conditions may have been induced by previously encountered contact allergens or, more likely, by irritants undoubtedly associated with these various professions. Hence, the potential glove allergens penetrate more easily into the damaged skin than would otherwise be the case, thus giving rise to sensitization. Moreover, people with a history of atopy, and particularly those suffering from hand eczema, are liable to develop adverse reactions to gloves.2,3 That gloves can cause intolerance reactions even in those not wearing them became particularly apparent with the contact urticaria syndrome caused by latex, but this may also occur with contact eczema.
