Prevalence of skin dermatoses among fishermen in Puducherry
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.18203/issn.2455-4529.IntJResDermatol20193237Keywords:
Skin dermatoses, Fishermen, Plantar hyperkeratosis, Acute urticaria, Sunburn, MelasmaAbstract
Background: Fishermen always work and reside in environmental conditions that are harmful to their health. The primary objective of this study was to evaluate the magnitude of skin diseases among fishermen and the secondary objective was to assess the knowledge, attitude and practices related to skin diseases and their prevention.
Methods: This was a cross-sectional study carried out among 420 fishermen and women belonging to fishing area of Puducherry for a period of three months from December 2018 to February 2019.
Results: The majority of the study populations (26.67%) were in the age group of 30-40 years. The majority were males (1.43%), 88.57% were married, 16.19% were illiterate whereas 42.86% studied up to the secondary school level. The majority (54.29%) were working for more than 12 hours daily. The majority (30.48%) were in the fishing occupation for more than 20 years. The non-infectious skin disorders were: sunburns (25.71%), palmoplantar hyperkeratosis (19.52%), melasma (14.05%), acute urticaria (7.85%), photoaging (2.86%), wrinkles (2.14%) and freckels (1.90%). Among infections, 10.48% had tinea infections followed by pityriasis versicolor in 7.38%, bacterial infection in 3.57%, onychomycosis and warts in 1.19% each respectively and all the study population had only one type of infection. All men in the study were not using sunscreens and any protective wares and they were not aware of sun induced skin damage.
Conclusions: The most common diseases encountered were sunburn, palmoplantar hyperkeratosis, melasma, acute urticaria, fungal infections, bacterial infection and photoaging. The fishermen were not using sunscreens and protective wares and they were unaware of solar skin damage.
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