Dermatoses among paddy field workers--a descriptive, cross-sectional pilot study.
BACKGROUND
Paddy farming is one of the main occupations in coastal South India. Dermatological problems in paddy field workers have not received much attention.


OBJECTIVE
The purpose of this study was to study the dermatoses of the exposed parts of the body, viz. face, hands, and feet, in paddy field workers.


METHODS
Three hundred and forty-one workers were questioned and clinical findings noted. Scrapings for bacterial and fungal examination were taken by random selection.


RESULTS
Seventy-three per cent had work-related itching. Melasma was the commonest facial lesion (41.1%). The main problems on the hands were hyperkeratosis (26.4%), nail dystrophy (15.2%) and paronychia (8.8%). Common feet dermatoses included nail dystrophy (57.1%), pitted keratolysis (42.5%) and fissuring (23.5%). Common aerobic and anaerobic bacteria isolated from pitted keratolysis and intertrigo were Klebsiella and Clostridium species. Aspergillus species were the commonest fungus grown from intertrigo.


CONCLUSIONS
Occupational dermatoses are common in paddy field workers.
Shenoi
Shrutakirthi D
SD
Department of Skin and STD, KMC, Manipal, India. shru12@yahoo.com
Davis
Suraj V
SV
Rao
Sugandhi
S
Rao
Girija
G
Nair
Sreekumaran
S
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D017677:Age Distribution; D000383:Agriculture; D016001:Confidence Intervals; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D017449:Dermatitis, Allergic Contact / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D009783:Dermatitis, Occupational / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005260:Female; D005533:Foot Dermatoses / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology; D006229:Hand Dermatoses / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D007194:India / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010865:Pilot Projects; D015995:Prevalence; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D017678:Sex Distribution