BACKGROUND Concerns over increased reports of physical health symptoms thought to be related to floodwater exposure among New Orleans firefighters prompted a health hazard evaluation of firefighters following Hurricane Katrina. METHODS A questionnaire assessing health symptoms possibly related to the response to Hurricane Katrina was administered to all New Orleans Fire Department (NOFD) pers...

This second chapter on sports-related skin infections summarizes the aspects of viral diseases as they pertain to athletes. Technically smallpox has been eradicated from the world, so the case of smallpox in a boxer in 1948 is not discussed in detail but is mentioned here for historical perspective. A Norwegian boxer developed the pustular eruption of smallpox on his head, neck, and right arm a...

Skin-lightening agents such as kojic acid, arbutin, ellagic acid, lucinol and 5,5′-dipropylbiphenyl-2,2′-diol are used in ‘anti-ageing’ cosmetics. Cases of allergic contact dermatitis caused by these skin-lightening agents have been reported (1, 2). Vitamin C and its derivatives have also been used in cosmetics as skin-lightening agents for a long time. Vitamin C in topical agents is poorly abs...

Allergic contact dermatitis (ACD) is one of the most prevalent occupational skin diseases and causes severe and long-lasting health problems in the case of chronification. It is initiated by an innate inflammatory immune response to skin contact with low molecular weight chemicals that results in the priming of chemical-specific, skin-homing CD8(+) Tc1/Tc17 and CD4(+) Th1/Th17 cells. Following ...

Continuous uninterrupted skin-to-skin contact is known to facilitate newborn transition to extrauterine life, the ability to actively find the nipple and establishment of effective breastfeeding but is not promoted consistently in practice. The Newborn Feeding Ability Questionnaire (NFAQ) was developed to measure midwives' knowledge and practice in supporting the first breastfeed. The NFAQ was ...

BACKGROUND Skin contact with house dust mites may contribute to atopic dermatitis and other skin diseases. We sought to determine if molecules from house dust mites could influence the release of proinflammatory cytokines and chemokines from epidermal keratinocytes and dermal fibroblasts grown in a human skin equivalent (HSE) model. METHODS HSEs consisting of an epidermis of keratinocytes wit...

Early and prolonged skin-to-skin contact (SSC) after birth between a mother and her newborn has been shown to generate beneficial effects on mother-infant relationship and breastfeeding. SSC may ease the infant’s transition to extra uterine life and helps to regulate the infant’s body temperature and nursing behavior. However, reports of sudden unexpected postnatal collapse (SUPC) soon after bi...

: Kangaroo mother care (KMC) is a standardized and protocolized system for low birth weight, based on skin-to-skin contact between the infant mother. The mother's active participation crucial effectively implementing kangaroo services to improve physiological stress parameters neonates.

Central oxytocin mediates the acquisition of a filial preference for maternal odour in rat pups, manifested by their huddling preferences. The present study was designed to examine whether maternal care modulates oxytocin concentrations in rat pups and, if so, how different types of maternal contact are associated with the pups' oxytocin concentrations. Pairs of 14-day-old littermates were remo...

BACKGROUND Tannery workers are at considerable risk of developing occupational contact dermatitis. Occupational skin diseases in tannery workers in newly industrialized countries have been reported, but neither the prevalence of occupational allergic contact dermatitis nor the skin-sensitizing agents were specifically examined in those studies. OBJECTIVES To assess the prevalence of occupatio...