Atopic Eczema - British Association of Dermatologists

Atopic Eczema and Initial Career Choices

Most people who suffer from atopic eczema are as capable as the next person in achieving their desired careers. It is important to think about your career as a teenager however, as there are some areas of work which give rise to problems if you have atopic eczema. These include:

hairdressing, due to frequent immersion of the hands in hot soapy water and to the handling of hair colourants, bleaches, perming solutions etc. Hand eczema can develop even if your atopic eczema has never affected your hands before;

kitchen/food preparation, due to contact with, for example, the juices of raw fruit and vegetables and the need for frequent hand-washing and washing up of utensils in hot water with detergent. In the long term, all these factors will produce irritation to your hands;

engineering/motor vehicle repair, due to almost continuous contact of the skin with oils and coolants which can be extremely irritating;

Nursing, in part due to the need for frequent hand-washing but with the added possible complication of infection passing either from patient to carer or vice versa. there are may areas within nursing where it would be possible for a person with atopic eczema to work, but if you have a tendency to hand eczema, this could pose serious problems whilst training;

animal handling due to the effect of animal dander and the requirement for hand-washing and the wearing of gloves;

plastering/bricklaying due to contact with cement which can be an irritant and may also result in allergy developing to the chrome in the cement;

work with adhesives containing cyanoacrylates and epoxy resins, both of which can cause contact dermatitis.

If you have set your heart on a career there are usually ways of minimising their problems outlined above with the help of your doctor. A little careful thought at an early age can, however, save a lot of heartache later. Clearly any choice depends on the severity of your condition and whether or not your eczema involves your hands. It is wise to take stock at this stage as it is very demoralising to set out on a career path with great enthusiasm only to have to change after a short time due to problems with your skin. The stress associated with the job difficulties may lead to a vicious circle developing with marked deterioration of your eczema and even greater uncertainty about future possibilities.

Sources of Help

Your family practitioner or skin specialist will be happy to talk to you about the problems atopic eczema suffers sometimes face at work. The young adult leaving school or college has access to careers officers who can give general advice on career options. In the case of real difficulty or where there is disagreement on the limitations and restrictions, advice can be sought from the Employment Medical Advisory Service (EMAS) of the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), found under HSE in the telephone directory. The doctors and nurses of EMAS have specialist expertise in the possible interactions of work and health and can advise you in practical terms about your career aspirations.