Occupational irritant contact dermatitis due to petroleum naphtha

Irritant contact dermatitis (ICD) is responsible for the vast majority of occupational contact dermatitis and usually seen in professional groups working with wet hand. However, today, with the increasing business lines, employees are exposed to a variety of irritants. Occupational exposure to many chemicals and toxic irritants affect not only the skin, but also the other systems. Therefore, this situation resulting with loss of work and changes in business may become a public health problem. The diagnosis of occupational contact dermatitis should not be limited only with tests for allergens, detailed history of exposure to workplace substances and careful examination of product safety forms are necessary. In addition, by establishing close relationship between occupational physicians and employers, preventive measures should be taken before similar diseases occur in other workers in the same work place. In order to highlight this issue, a 32-year-old male patient working in an invitation card fabric is presented in this case report. Irritant contact dermatitis secondary to “petroleum naphta” was present in the patient’s arms. Another important feature of this case, as far as we know, this is the first case of irritant contact dermatitis due to naphtha in the literature.\u