Background: The effectiveness of a skin care
programme is mainly dependent on the effectiveness
of the skin care products used
and the frequency and diligence with which
they are applied.
Objectives: The present cross-sectional
study was aimed at evaluating the acceptance
of generally recommended skin protection
measures among 1355 metal workers
employed in 19 metal-working factories.
Materials and Methods: 1310 males (96.7 %)
and 45 females (3.3 %) gave their informed
consent to take part in the investigation
which included a standardized interview, a
dermatological examination of the hands
and evaluation by means of a score.
Results: More than half of the participants
(52.4 %) reported that they had suffered at
some time from skin problems on the hands;
28 % indicated that they followed the generally
recommended skin protection regimen,
i.e. the use of barrier creams in combination
with moisturizers. A similar number of
participants (29 %) denied any use of protective
creams. In general, compliance was
significantly poorer in men than in women
(p = 0.04). Participants with past or present
history of hand eczema used both barrier
creams (prevalence ratio (PR): 1.15; 95th CI:
1.03–1.28) and moisturizers (PR: 1.15; 95th
CI: 1.05–1.27) significantly more often than
those without eczema. The skin condition
of the hands, expressed using a quantitative
score, did not differ significantly in the four
subgroups defined by different skin protection
measures (barrier cream and/or moisturizer).
Conclusion: Although barrier creams and
moisturizers are highly recommended as effective
means of preventing irritant contact
dermatitis in Germany, our data demonstrate
that the compliance in this group of workers
with a high risk of hand eczema is very low.
