Skin diseases in tea collectors

The tea collection is a difficult and laborious task, but few studies have analyzed risks by work activities or the work environment. To investigate the effects of work activities and work environment on tea collectors by looking from dermatological perspective, detailed dermatological examination was performed on tea collectors and clinical backgrounds of the participants were questioned and all findings were noted. The participants clinically suspected for skin, hair and nail infections have been referred to our hospital microbiology laboratory for sampling. The most common diseases in the participants were allergic contact dermatitis, irritant contact dermatitis and acute paronychia. These three diseases accounted for 59.1% of the total diseases in tea collectors. Clinical background story was unremarkable in the vast majority of participants. The current study draws attention to this business area and health problems of tea collectors. The authors think that, use of protective equipment such as masks and gloves during working and receiving of safety training related to their job will decrease work-related health problems of tea collectors.