A questionnaire survey and patch testing on skin disorders were conducted on 20 chrysanthemum growers (15 males and 5 females) in the Kohoku district of Shiga Prefecture in order to clarify the etiology and make a plan for prevention. The results were as follows;
1) Thirteen subjects suffered from skin disorders and 8 of them had contacted dermatitis since they started the cultivation of chrysanthemum.
2) It was suggested that the skin disorders might be associated with such types of work as “lower -leaves pruning, ” “harvesting” and “shipping, ” during which they were closely in contact with chrysanthemum. However, our survey found that most the subjects paid less attention to chrysanthemum than pesticides to prevent skin disorders.
3) The patch test found 10 out of the 13 subjects who had suffered from skin disorders manifested sensitization reactions to chrysanthemum or pesticides and 7 of them to both.
Dermatologically, the disorders were diagnosed as allergic contact dermatitis caused by chrythanthemum or pesticides, but it was difficult to clarify which was the main factor of contact dermatitis.
4) In order to prevent contact dermatitis among chrythanthemum growers, hygienic education on the sensitizing activity of chrysanthemum and guidance on effective protection against chrysanthemum and pesticides are needed.