Parthenium weed causes dermatitis in Himachal Pradesh: Tanda Medical College Study

Dharamsala, January 11

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A study carried out by the Department of Dermatology, Tanda Medical College, has found that parthenium weed is the biggest cause of contact dermatitis in Himachal. Carried out on 455 patients over a period of five years, the study has also been adjudicated by the Indian Dermatology Online Journal (IDOJ) as the best original article at the IDOJ awards 2021.

The objective of the study was to evaluate clinical and occupational profile and common allergens in patients with occupational contact dermatitis. For this, records of 455 patients aged 18 to 85 years with allergic contact dermatitis were analysed retrospectively.

The results indicated that in 58% of the cases, dermatitis was caused in patients due to contact with parthenium. In most cases, the affected people were agriculturists who come in contact with the weed. Besides, home makers comprise 27.9% of the total cases, office workers 24.6% and construction workers 4.6%.

The study found that airborne dermatitis was caused in 27.7% cases, acral dermatitis in 14.1% cases and hand dermatitis in 12.9% cases. Hair colorants, shoe chips and shaving cream also produced positive reactions. —