Sind gefährdungen durch feuchtarbeit und durch das tragen feuchtigkeitsundurchlässiger schutzhandschuhe aus arbeitsmedizinischer sicht vergleichbar? Eine überprüfung anhand der kriterien der evidenzbasierten medizin

The new Ordinance on hazardous substances (Gefahrstoffverordnung, Appendix V) of 01. 01. 2005 includes measures like the one that wearing occlusive gloves for more than two hours a day has to be accompanied by preventive measures to be offered by the employer. With wearing occlusive gloves for four or more hours per shift health surveillance examination of the employee is imperative. Within the technical rule for hazardous substances (TRGS) 531 wet work in Germany leads to the same preventive measures as wearing occlusive gloves applying an equal treatment of the potential hazards. In the following article we tried to verify whether wet work and wearing occlusive gloves are equally hazardous with regard to the development of skin damage. This was done due to the principles of evidence-based medicine by searching the scientific literature. Furthermore, the results were matched with the occupational health experiences. As a result we found no persuasive evidence that justifies the equalization of wet work and wearing occlusive gloves as similar exposures for skin damage. Only scattered instances in literature could be found that suggest skin damage because of wearing occlusive gloves over a longer period.