Pesticides and Skin Diseases in Man - Pesticides: Evaluation of Environmental Pollution - page 531

TABLE 16.1 (Continued)
An Overview of Skin Diseases Caused by Pesticides, Their Precursors, and Contaminants

Skin Disease Examples of Causative Pesticides (Source)

Pigmentation disorders
(leukoderma,
melanoderma,
leukomelanoderma)

Bipyridyl (Wang et al. 1987)
Calcium polysulfide (Horiuchi et al. 2008)
4-Chloro-2-butynyl N-(3-chlorophenyl) carbamate (Brancaccio et al. 1977)
Chlorpyrifos (Horiuchi et al. 2008)
Methomyl (Horiuchi et al. 2008)

Nail disorders Dinitro-ortho-cresol (Baran 1974)

Diquat (Baran 1974)
Paraquat (Hearn and Keir 1971; Baran 1974; Howard 1979; Botella et al. 1985)

Hair disorders 1,1,1-Trichloro-2,2-di(4-chlorophenyl)ethane, DDT (Haustein 1968; Kwiatkowska

and Plonka 1971)
Lindane (Haustein 1968)

Nonmelanoma skin cancer Arsenic pesticides (Roth 1956; Braun 1958; Col et al. 1999; Braun 1958; Thiers

et al. 1967; Jampel and Jerdan 1987; Wesseling et al. 1999)
Paraquat (Wesseling et al. 1999)

Melanoma Arsenic pesticides (Dennis et al. 2010)

Benomyl (Dennis et al. 2010)
Carbaryl (Dennis et al. 2010)
1,1,1-Trichloro-2,2-di(4-chlorophenyl)ethane, DDT (Barthel 1985)
Maneb (Dennis et al. 2010)
Mancozeb (Dennis et al. 2010)
Parathion (Dennis et al. 2010)

a D-D mixture content: dichloropropanes, dichloropropenes, epichlorohydrin.
b Some researchers consider this disease a variant of ACD rather than a “real” erythema multiforme—for more
explanation please refer to the paragraph on the disease.

sunburn-like reaction in the exposed areas of the skin, typically followed by a localized
hyperpigmentation. In contrast to typical sunburns, phototoxic reactions are provoked by
UV doses that normally are well tolerated. No individual- or photosensitizer-specific pre-
disposition is required for phototoxic reactions. Pesticides capable of inducing phototoxic
reactions are listed in Table 16.1 .

TABLE 16.2
A Proposed Set of Criteria for Diagnosing Irritant Contact Dermatitis in Epidemiological Studies

Criterion Description

Onset of the disease Onset of symptoms within minutes or hours of the present exposure and/or

within 2 weeks since the first exposure to the chemical in question

Subjective symptoms Early in the clinical course: pain, burning, stinging sensation, or discomfort of

the skin rather than pruritus (there is no urge to scratch the diseased skin)

Clinical picture Macular erythema (dark-red, livid-red), glazed, parched, or scalded appearance

of the epidermis, hyperkeratoses, fissuring, or chemical burns predominating

Patch test with the
chemical in question a

Patient: negative reaction within nontoxic concentrations, irritant reaction
within toxic concentrations
Healthy (previously nonexposed) controls: negative reaction within nontoxic
concentrations, irritant reactions to toxic concentrations in at least 50% of the
controls

a Extreme care should be exercised when patch testing with suspected irritants. Material safety data sheets and
other available toxicological data must be carefully consulted before undertaking the tests. From an ethical
point of view, it is advisable that the researcher performing these tests serves self as a first control subject.