Abstract
Hand eczema is a common and often painful skin illness because of its extensive etiology, prolonged cause, remissions and exacerbations, resistance to medication, and distinct anatomical features of the palmer skin. It was initially described in the nineteenth century, most likely. It's a widespread problem that impacts people in many different fields of work. Between 2% and 10% of people will probably get hand eczema at some point in their lives. Most occurrences of hand eczema have a multifactorial etiology, meaning that exogenous causes induce and prolong the eczema in individuals who are already prone to such processes due to endogenous factors.
MATERIAL AND METHOD: The dermatology department was the site of this cross-sectional study. The outpatient clinic of the dermatology department saw a total of one hundred patients with hand eczema. Following informed consent, a proforma was used to document every patient's full medical history, including employment, duration of complaints, pruritus, history of personal or occupational chemical exposure, history of atopy, recurrences, aggravating factors, and treatment history.
RESULTS: Out of 100 patients, major occupations among them were housewives 27%, followed by masons 22 %, farmers 10 %, mechanics 7 %, students 5 %, software engineers 6 %. Hyperkeratotic palmar eczema was the most common morphology observed in 53 of the patients followed by 19 fingertip eczema, 11 discoid eczema, 7 wear and tear dermatitis, 5 pompholyx, 5 recurrent focal palmer peeling. Nickel was the most common allergen in our study 27 followed by potassium dichromate 10, parthenium 6, cobalt and nickel 3, fragrance mix, formaldehyde and black rubber mix showed positive reaction in two patients each
CONCLUSION: Patients with hand eczema in our study typically ranged in age from 21 to 60. Farmers, masons, housewives, and mechanics are more likely to develop hand eczema. Hyperkeratotic palmar eczema was the most common morphological kind of eczema, followed by fingertip eczema. The most common result of the nickel patch test was positive, especially in housewives. Among masons, potassium dichromate-containing cement is the most common cause of allergies. Most people with pompholyx have had atopy in the past. The workplace may exacerbate this specific type of hand dermatosis.
KEYWORDS: Hand eczema, Patch test, Allergens, Nickel and Potassium Bichromate.