Hands cream of masons: against eczema and dermatitis from cement

There are more than 11 million construction professionals in Europe and the construction sector is one of the most developed in Italy. The sector is also one of the largest and most complex in terms of health and safety. Suffice it to say that, according to Eurostat reports, construction ranks third in terms of the number of accidents, preceded only by manufacturing and trade. A record confirmed by the Malprof surveillance system, which in the period 2010-2019 saw the construction sector in first place for the number of reports of suspected occupational diseases (23.6% of the total).

Moreover, according to INAIL surveys, occupational disease claims in construction are on the rise in Italy. But what are the most common occupational diseases among construction professionals? At the top of the list are musculo-skeletal disorders, noise-induced hearing loss, respiratory disorders and skin disorders, such as dermatitis, eczema, allergies, tumours and other disorders that are particularly severe and disabling for those who suffer them.

The data speak for themselves, but if you work in the sector, we are sure you have already realised how much your skin, the skin of your hands above all, is exposed to severe daily stresses, which can cause discomfort, but also pain and major drops in productivity. How to respond effectively to these dangers? By learning about your occupational hazards and using the most correct systems for skin prevention, protection and care.

 

Protecting hands from occupational diseases in construction

Among the most relevant concepts of workplace risk prevention regulations is undoubtedly the sharing of information with employees, who are actually on the front line of daily tasks. Indeed, it is essential to create a true awareness of the causes of risks, possible skin manifestations and strategies to prevent them.

Spreading a culture of health is also indispensable from the point of view of managers and RSPPs, as it means enabling workers to notice emerging problems independently and in advance and, above all, to take all the necessary measures to avert danger.

Are you already familiar with the main risk factors and occupational diseases in construction involving the skin? In
addition to the mechanical hazards related to manual activities, there are numerous chemical hazards that your hands may be exposed to, due to the effect of highly aggressive, irritating and allergenic chemical agents. Among the most relevant is contact with substances with a liquid component, such as oils, resins and cement, containing chromium VI. Some of the skin discomfort, however, may also be related to skin maceration under occlusive PPE or exposure to cold, wind or ultraviolet rays.

Among the most common skin diseases among construction workers are contact dermatitis and contact eczema caused by cement.

 

Cement dermatitis

There are mainly two types of contact dermatitis that affect construction workers: irritant contact dermatitis and allergic contact dermatitis. The first is caused by handling aggressive or harmful substances on construction sites. The second is a reaction of the immune system to specific allergens that the hands come into contact with during the work shift.

Among those most frequently causing allergic dermatitis is cement (especially the chromium it contains), which triggers reactions such as blistering, itching, irritation and skin lesions. Glues and epoxy resins can also be complicit.

Cement eczema

Cement eczemas fall into two categories: toxic-irritative eczemas and allergic eczemas. The skin is susceptible to toxic-irritative eczema when the particular aggressiveness of a substance generates a skin reaction, combined with irritative mechanical stress. Symptoms may be redness and desquamation, formation of papules and thickening, but also rhagades and particularly painful caustic lesions.

Uncontrolled exposure to harmful substances (such as cement and chromium) and insufficient treatment of eczema can degenerate into hypersensitisation of the skin. Such conditions are favourable for the development of allergic eczemas, characterised by redness and severe itching, blistering, scaling and deep skin lesions. In this case, the immunological reaction will reoccur at the slightest contact with the allergen, making work in the building industry decidedly complex.

What solutions do you have to protect yourself from these risks? A comprehensive protection plan allows you to define the protective devices to be used and the best products for bricklayers’ hands, designed to protect them from aggression, clean them gently and keep them soft and undamaged, avoiding pathologies that can compromise their well-being and functionality.

 

Hand cream for bricklayers: why it is different from a moisturiser

When choosing allies for the health of your skin, you should consider their ingredients, texture and specific action on the skin. By carrying out this kind of analysis, you will easily realise that the use of a normal cream for dry, chapped hands is not the right solution for safeguarding the skin of construction professionals.

A normal emollient cream has some positive effects, but it is not specifically formulated for workers’ hands, which are subjected to stresses not normally found in daily life. It may provide moisture and temporarily reduce dryness, but it will not provide deep nourishment and will not effectively restore the hydrolipidic layer of the epidermis.

A hand cream for bricklayers, on the other hand, is able to meet your more specific needs. To find a valid cream for your hands that are cracked, dehydrated and exposed to dermatitis and eczema, it is essential to turn to professional products, such as those formulated by Nettuno, which has been serving workers in the construction industry since 1970.

 

Nettuno’s hand creams for bricklayers: no more cracked hands

Within the Nettuno skin protection, cleansing and care programme you can find highly nourishing creams for even the most damaged hands. The moisturising and emollient action of Protexem Rinnova is designed to regenerate the skin after the work shift, counteracting dehydration and flaking and keeping the skin surface perfectly intact. Easily absorbed and non-greasy, it has an effective soothing effect and concretely helps prevent skin disorders that may pose a risk to your work.

Completing the programme dedicated to those working in the construction industry are the high-performance barrier creams, such as Protexins Plus, active against water-based substances, and Protexsun Protection SPF50, the new Nettuno proposal that effectively shields the skin from the damaging action of UVA and UVB rays, offering a high protection factor and becoming an essential partner for those who work long hours in the sun.

For hygiene, hand cleaners are available: using them every day helps to reduce the development of skin diseases, constituting to all intents and purposes an indispensable means of protection.

 

Contact us to learn more about Nettuno solutions!