Getting to know

If your allergic symptoms are mainly present or more severe when you are at work it is very probable that you are allergic to a substance to which you come in contact in your working environment. Contact with the work allergens occurs most often through to inhalation (breathing in) or skin contact.

People working in close contact with laboratory or other kind of furry animals can become allergic to animal substances. In the experimental laboratories rats, mice, guinea pigs and rabbits are the most frequent causes of respiratory allergy. In these animals most allergenic substance is animal urine but contact with other secretions like perspiration and saliva as well as animal’s blood can also cause allergy. People at risk for developing allergy are technicians, scientists and cleaners.

Veterinarians, farmers, grooms, horsemen, livestock sellers, breeders and animal carers are also exposed through their occupation to animal allergens, such as horses, cows, dogs, poultry, etc.

What kind of diseases can be caused by animal allergens in the workplace?

You can come in contact with these allergens either directly through your skin, in which case you can manifest urticaria or contact eczema or you can inhale allergens that have become airborne and then you can develop allergic conjunctivitis, rhinitis or asthma. 

Avoiding animal allergens at work.

The ideal solution is to change your job which would allow you to stop completely the contact with the animals.

If you cannot change your job then it is important to try to reduce as much as possible the time you spend in the presence of the animals and also to minimize contact with them:

• If your symptoms relate to the skin use gloves when handling animals and animal products
• If your symptoms relate to your eyes or nose try to wear a mask when entering the room where the animals are
• Never clean the animal cages yourself and try to avoid being inside the room when the cleaning is done as well as a few hours afterwards   

 

 

People exposed to food in their working environment can develop allergy to allergens present in those foods. Theoretically exposure to any kind of food may induce allergy. However, below are listed the most frequent foods associated with occupational allergy:

• Crustaceans  which include shrimps, prawns, lobster, mussels, oysters, crabs etc. can cause food allergy in fishers but also in those involved in handling these products or in preparing them (such as cooks). Handling of crustaceans and crustacean products can cause contact urticaria. Also allergens can become airborne: cooking releases vapours that can cause allergies in cooks; other processing techniques such as cutting the frozen flesh, washing the crustaceans with high pressure water flow or using high pressure air jet to remove the flesh from the shell can also release in the air very fine particles of crustacean components that are breathed in by the people involved in the processing procedure. Consequently people involved in all these jobs can develop can develop allergic rhinitis, conjunctivitis or asthma or contact urticaria.
• Flour is one of the most frequent causes of work allergy, particularly in people involved in milling the grains or in bakers. Most frequently people exposed to flour allergens develop allergic rhinitis, conjunctivitis or asthma. The highest risk for developing allergy is associated with exposure to wheat, rye and barley flour. Once becoming sensitized and developing allergy to one of these types of flour there is a high risk to develop symptoms when coming in contact with other kind of flour. People involved in handling flour can become allergic not only to the flour itself but also to mites contaminating in flour (Dermatophagoides farinae is a house dust mite that lives predominantly in flour) or to baking additives such as enzymes used in baking the breads and cake sponges.
• Other foods that have been associated quite often with occupational food allergy are egg proteins causing asthma in people involved in egg processing, coffee beans (particularly green beans) which were related to asthma in people involved in coffee manufacturing, castor beans causing asthma in workers from the oil industry but also in seamen or laboratory workers etc. The examples mentioned above are the most frequent causes of food related occupational allergy but almost any kind of food or food products to which one comes in contact regularly through its work can cause allergy.    

If you suffer from an allergic disease caused by an allergen present in your work place it is mandatory to reduce exposure to the offending substance in parallel with following the treatment recommended by your doctor.

Changing the job completely would be the best solution for your disease but if this is not possible, even moving to a different department can be helpful. If you cannot change either the job or the department you should avoid going to work while your symptoms are present. Consult an allergist and follow accurately the treatment recommended for as long as he requests it.