I did respond to Campbell's posting, but it went direct to him. I thought it
might also be of interest to members of the forum, so here it is.

Chris

-----Original Message-----
From: Chris Packham [mailto:[log in to unmask]] 
Sent: 26 June 2013 22:54
To: 'Milne Campbell'
Subject: RE: Theatre Scrub Problems

Campbell

Has he actually been patch tested for these chemicals. Whilst they are both
sensitisers, neither is particularly common as such and since it is
difficult without a patch test to diagnose an allergy you may actually be
dealing with an irritant contact dermatitis, a more common event with these
types of product. Obviously I don't have enough information from your
e-mail, but to find someone allergic to both substances is slightly unusual
and tends to make me think that you are dealing with an irritant reaction.

If it is an irritant contact dermatitis then we may be able to resolve this
by improving skin care - more frequent use of a moisturiser, for example. If
it is an allergy then total avoidance will be needed. How about the
following. (The authors are recognised authorities in the field of hand
hygiene.)

"Brushes are not recommended for surgical hand preparation. Rapid
antimicrobial action, wider spectrum of activity, lower side-effects, and
the absence of the risk of hand contamination by the rinsing water, clearly
favour the use of alcohol-based hand rubs for surgical hand preparation..."
- Widmer, A.F., Rotter M, Voss A, Nthumba P, Allegranzi B, Boyce J, Pittet
D, Surgical hand preparation: state-of-the-art, Journal of Hospital
Infection, 2010, 74, 112-122

Hope this is of some help. If you need more get in touch direct.

Best regards
Chris

Chris Packham
FRSPH, FIIRSM, FInstSMM, MCMI, RSP, MBICSc
EnviroDerm Services
Unit 10, Building 11, The Mews, Mitcheldean, GL17 0SN
Tel: 01386 832 311
Mobile: 07818 035 898
www.enviroderm.co.uk

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