HORTICULTURE
PESTICIDE

DERMATITIS IN FLORISTS

Questionnaires were used to recruit 71 patients with dermatitis, mainly market gardeners and wholesale florists, plus a few retail florists. The most frequent allergens were the Compositae, followed by the Liliaceae and Primulaceae. Chrysanthemums were the most common cause of Compositae dermatitis, and tulips and alstroemerias the next most common cause of allergic contact dermatitis. Alstroemerias were common sensitizers in retail florists. Two recently published studies were cited which underscored how difficult it is to know how much of a particular plant dermatitis is actually occurring among florists. Cases of Abstroemeria dermatitis in florists have been reported sporadically since 1970, with the allergen responsible being the same as in tulips, alpha-methylene-gamma-butyrolactone. The practice of removing individual flowers from the umbel and threading wire through the stems results in a characteristic pattern of dermatitis on the pulps of the finger and thumbs of both hands. Primula dermatitis was more commonly found among nonoccupational workers such as housewives, but florists also continued to experience the problem.

Seminars in Dermatology, 15(2):83-86 1996. (18 references)

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