Assessment of Occupational Safety and Hygiene Perception among Afro-Caribbean Hair Salon Operators in Manchester, United Kingdom.

Because of exposure to a number of potential health hazards within the work environment, hairstylists experience occupational diseases that include occupational asthma, skin conditions and musculoskeletal diseases. The paucity of studies assessing occupational safety and hygiene management among Afro-Caribbean hair salon operators in the UK promoted the study. QualtricsTM was used to assess the participants' perception of exposure to hair products and their personal safety and hygiene knowledge, attitudes, awareness, and risk perceptions at work. In five salons, indoor air quality was monitored over one working week for selected environmental pollutants: temperature, humidity, CO, CO2 and Total Volatile Organic Compounds (TVOCs) using a GrayWolf Direct Sense Indoor Air Quality-IAQ (IQ-610). The use of unflued gas heating to raise the indoor temperature was common among the salons' operators which explains the high carbon monoxide readings recorded. Itchy eyes and nose (44.4%) shoulder, neck and back pain (39.2%) were frequently reported. Age-stratified analysis of reported occupational ailments showed participants within an age bracket of 31-35 reported allergies (24%) and itchy eyes and nose (19.1%) as the most common of occupational ailments. Respiratory, skin and musculoskeletal symptoms ranked as major occupational ill-health experiences among the study population. The study outcome demonstrated that the type of activity and the hair products used play an important role in the level of pollutants in the working environment. The substitution of the more harmful hair products with safer alternatives is needed, as is the encouragement of health surveillance.

[Traditional camphor misuse: a forgotten danger to children (about 2 cases)]. / Mésusage traditionnel du camphre: un danger oublié pour les enfants (à propos de 2 cas).

In our country, the use of traditional medicinal recipes and artisan cosmetic products is very frequent due to the high rate of illiteracy, low purchasing power and of the large number of herbalists. Camphor is a low-cost product, easily accessible and omnipresent in almost every home, making it potentially toxic in case of misuse, in particular among children. We here report two cases of intoxication induced by beauty recipe made with powdered camphor. Patients' medical history gave informations about poisoning in 2 children caused by synthetic powder made with camphor imported from China. Patient 1: little girl aged 2 months, with no previous medical history, admitted to the Emergency Department due to constant crying and refusal to eat. Clinical examination showed no abnormalities. Standard laboratory tests were normal. Neurological, digestive and cutaneous monitoring were performed. Patient 2: girl aged 6 years admitted with atonic seizure associated with syncope and foaming followed by abdominal pain and vomiting after ingesting milk. The evolution was favorable 48 hours after symptom management. Mothers reported two neighbors had received a traditional hair care recipe by a third neighbor. After that they had mixed powdered camphor with olive oil, then they had applied it to the hair of their children for one hour, thus causing the occurrence of these symptoms.

Occupational skin disorders in a subset of Nigerian hairdressers

Introduction: hairdressing is associated with a wide range of disorders. This is particularly true in the African hairdresser, who is saddled with the responsibility of 'taming' the rather difficult-to-manage African hair, and is thus exposed to a wide range of chemical, biological and physical materials in the hair grooming process. We therefore sought to determine the prevalence and pattern of occupational skin disorders among hairdressers in Ibadan, one of the oldest and largest cities in Nigeria.Methods: this was a cross sectional study of hairdressers conducted in 2013 in Ibadan, Nigeria. Hairdressers and their apprentices were interviewed using a structured questionnaire, following which a thorough physical examination was performed to identify any skin disorder.Results: a total of 226 hairstylists were recruited. The prevalence of occupational skin disorders in the study was 68.13%. The prevalence of specific skin disorders was 32.74% for nail disorders; 28.75% for traumatic skin disorders; and 2.64% for hand dermatitis.Conclusion: there is a high prevalence of occupational skin disorders among hairdressers, and this may have personal and public health implications

A lethal danger in the home: turpentine poisoning.

Turpentine is an oleoresin obtained from various species of pine. In turpentine poisoning, various signs and symptoms of toxicity may develop, including hematuria, renal failure, loss of vision, chest pain, vomiting, severe coughing, gastroesophageal hemorrhage, hypotension, swelling of the throat and even death. We report a case of turpentine ingestion in a 9-year-old boy. The patient was admitted to our clinic with suspected intoxication after accidentally drinking from a glass that held a turpentine oil preparation used by his father for hair care. The patient displayed no significant signs and symptoms other than bradycardia and hypotension. Laboratory investigations revealed no abnormalities. The patient was hospitalized for close monitoring and observation. During a two-and-a-half-day observation period, hypotension was corrected with administration of dopamine and intravenous fluids. In this report, we wish to draw attention to the dangerous effects of plant-derived drugs.

Why people drink shampoo? Food Imitating Products are fooling brains and endangering consumers for marketing purposes.

A Food Imitating Product (FIP) is a household cleaner or a personal care product that exhibits food attributes in order to enrich consumption experience. As revealed by many cases worldwide, such a marketing strategy led to unintentional self-poisonings and deaths. FIPs therefore constitute a very serious health and public policy issue. To understand why FIPs are a threat, we first conducted a qualitative analysis on real-life cases of household cleaners and personal care products-related phone calls at a poison control center followed by a behavioral experiment. Unintentional self-poisoning in the home following the accidental ingestion of a hygiene product by a healthy adult is very likely to result from these products being packaged like foodstuffs. Our hypothesis is that FIPs are non-verbal food metaphors that could fool the brain of consumers. We therefore conducted a subsequent functional neuroimaging (fMRI) experiment that revealed how visual processing of FIPs leads to cortical taste inferences. Considered in the grounded cognition perspective, the results of our studies reveal that healthy adults can unintentionally categorize a personal care product as something edible when a food-like package is employed to market nonedible and/or dangerous products. Our methodology combining field (qualitative) and laboratory (behavioral and functional neuroimaging) findings could be of particular relevance for policy makers, as it can help screening products prior to their market release--e.g. the way they are packaged and how they can potentially confuse the mind of consumers--and therefore save lives.

[Minoxidil intoxication, the pharmacological agent of a hair lotion]. / Intoxication par le minoxidil, principe actif d'une lotion capillaire. À propos d'un cas.

Accidental intoxications in children are frequent but most of them are without serious consequences. We describe herein the case of a young girl who drank 100 mg of a topical hair lotion with minoxidil. On arrival, she had no symptoms except flush on the face and ears. Four and half hours after ingestion, tachycardia appeared with a pulse above 170 beats per min with hypotension at 76/24 mmHg. The heart rate remained between 170 and 190 beats per min for 12 h and then lowered to between 140 and 160 beats per min. Thirty-six hours after ingestion, the heart beat was at 140 beats per min. Minoxidil is a strong vasodilator used first in the 1970s for severe hypertension. It produces hypotension by direct arteriolar vasodilatation. Only a few cases of minoxidil intoxication have been described in the literature, including only one pediatric case. This young boy had only tachycardia of 160 beats per min for 40 h. Most serious cases have been described in adults. They suffered long-lasting tachycardia, hypotension, and ECG changes. Most patients need a bolus of normal saline fluid and some with hemodynamic problems need vasoactive drugs such as dopamine and/or phenylephrine. All patients need to be under medical supervision for a long time because of the product's very long action.

[Necrotizing toxic contact dermatitis of the scalp from hydrogen peroxide]. / Nekrotisierende toxische Kontaktdermatitis der Kopfhaut durch Wasserstoffperoxid.

Skin reactions to chemicals used by hair dressers are usually reported as irritative or allergic contact dermatitis of the hands. We describe a 15-year old girl who suffered an unusually severe injury to her scalp with necrosis of the galea aponeurotica as a result of highlighting her hair. Injury resulted in a scaring alopecia, which can only be treated by plastic reconstructive surgery. The cause for this injury might have been a higher than usual concentration of hydrogen peroxide used for highlighting the hair.

Asthma and hairdressers.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: Hairdressers have an increased prevalence of respiratory diseases and are at high risk of occupational asthma. In this paper we aim to review the most recent findings in respiratory diseases related to the occupation of hairdressing to provide a background for management and prevention. RECENT FINDINGS: Recent studies have described several cases of occupational asthma and occupational rhinitis in hairdressers. Persulphate salts are the major causal agents. Sensitization to persulphate salts seems more related to an individual hypersusceptibility than to environmental factors. An underlying immunologic mechanism is strongly suggested but not definitively demonstrated. The diagnosis of persulphate asthma is based on the specific challenge, for which standardized methods have been described. Some data show the presence of respiratory disorders in an early stage in apprentices and demonstrate that after diagnosis a proportion of hairdressers with occupational asthma remain symptomatic despite cessation of exposure. SUMMARY: Careful medical surveillance is recommended for hairdressers and for hairdressing apprentices. Further studies are needed to evaluate the mechanism of persulphate asthma and to determine the relative role of individual risk factors compared with environmental factors in the development of the disease.

Inhalación de laca para el pelo: ¿una adicción peligrosa? / Inhalation hair sprays: a dangerous addiction?

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Polymer fume fever-like syndrome due to hairspray inhalation.

Inhalation of fluoropolymer pyrolysis products causes a self-limited illness termed polymer fume fever; symptoms include fever, chills, myalgias and non-productive cough, and are easily mistaken for an acute viral illness. We report a 29-y-old male who developed fever and pneumonitis shortly after the inhalation of pyrolyzed hairspray. Chest x-rays showed pictures consistent with pneumonitis. The patient was treated solely with supplemental oxgen, and his symptoms resolved over 24 h. Inhalation of pyrolyzed hairspray may cause a syndrome resembling polymer fume fever.

From profound hypokalemia to life-threatening hyperkalemia: a case of barium sulfide poisoning.

We describe a 25-year-old man who was brought to the emergency department with skeletal muscle weakness, respiratory arrest, and rhabdomyolysis, as well as life-threatening hyperkalemia, after ingesting a depilatory containing barium sulfide (Magic Shave; Carson Products Co, Savannah, Ga). The findings of his physical examination were significant for hyporeflexia with marked weakness. He was in respiratory distress and required intubation and ventilatory support owing to progressive weakness of the respiratory muscles. His serum potassium level was 1.5 mmol/L. He was treated with intravenous and oral potassium. His serum potassium level peaked at 8.3 mmol/L and his serum creatine kinase level at 8286 IU/L. His acute respiratory weakness resolved with correction of the potassium concentration; his rhabdomyolysis responded well to hydration; and his renal function returned to normal. We also discuss the various pathophysiological findings in this case and compare our patient with another who, despite ingesting a similar amount of the same hair remover, did not develop any of the above complications.

Sudden death due to intravenous infusion of hair conditioner.

A case of sudden death in a 14-year-old girl due to self administration of hair conditioner through an intravenous infusion pump is described. This report demonstrates difficulties that may occur in determining the manner of death in such cases and outlines a specific danger that may occur when adolescents have unsupervised access to intravenous infusion equipment.

Toxic mechanism of bromate poisoning in a dog: a case study.

Efforts to link the observed signs in a canine poisoning event with 1 or more possible permanent wave solution chemicals ingested are described. A scenario is presented describing the mechanisms by which the most likely of those compounds, ammonium thioglycolate and sodium or potassium bromate, could have acted to cause both the immediate and delayed signs of acute vestibular dysfunction.

Fatality associated with inhalation of a pyrethrin shampoo.

A fatality associated with the inhalational exposure to a pyrethrin insecticide is described. Death was attributed to sudden irreversible bronchospasm. While less severe allergic reactions have been reported, this is the first death associated with pyrethrin inhalation.

Two children with bromate intoxication due to ingestion of the second preparation for permanent hair waving.

We report two children who suffered from sodium bromate intoxication due to ingestion of the second preparation for permanent hair waving (the second permanent preparation). One child suffered from gastrointestinal symptoms only. The other exhibited slight acute renal insufficiency. Results of the histological examination of the kidney in the sick child with acute renal insufficiency showed sporadic epithelial separation of the proximal tubuli under light microscopy. In addition, we could demonstrate more clearly epithelial separation and unbroken tubular basement membranes under electron microscopy (EM). To our knowledge, this is the first report of EM findings in this disease. The mechanism of epithelial injuries by bromate is not clear.

Fatal ethanol intoxication from household products not intended for ingestion.

Fatal acute ethanol intoxication is frequently encountered in medicolegal practice. Although the vast majority of acute ethanol toxicity deaths follow the ingestion of conventional alcoholic beverages, ethanol can be obtained from a variety of commercial products, which often contain high levels of ethyl alcohol but are not manufactured or designed for consumption. Such products may be easily purchased in locales where statutory limitations restrict liquor availability on Sundays or during the early morning hours. Several acute ethanol fatalities have been encountered in New Mexico that were directly related to consumption of non-beverage ethanol-containing products, all of them occurring during times when alcoholic beverage sales were restricted. Despite the fact that manufacturers deliberately include compounds in these products that discourage ingestion, this policy apparently does little to deter individuals who are searching for a source of ethanol when no conventional beverages are available. The products that were consumed in these fatalities also contained other compounds which would be toxic at much greater concentrations, but which were inconsequential in their effects in comparison with the direct toxic effect of ethanol. Investigation of the scene and awareness that alcohol-containing products can be fatally abused are essential to detecting these unconventional ethanol sources.