26 January 2007
Throughout January, Eastbourne Borough Council will be contacting local hairdressers and beauty salons to inform them about a free health & safety awareness event called ‘BAD HAND DAY’ to be held on 26 January 2007 in Meeting Room 1 in the Town Hall. It’s a ‘drop-in’ session between 1.30 pm. and 5 pm. where visitors will receive a free campaign bag which contains information & advice, stickers, posters, fridge magnets, pens, moisturising cream, and gloves to help you spread the word about dermatitis in the workplace. Free refreshments will be served and EH staff will be availabvle to answer any questions visitors may have about dermatitis or health & safety at work. All visitors will also be entered in our free prize draw.
Eastbourne Borough Council’s Cabinet Spokesperson for Housing, Health & Community Services, Councillor Sandie Howlett, says “ I hope as many people as possible will be able to come along to this event. Dermatitis can be a real problem - I know as my brother suffers - and it can really affect your daily life. Prevention can help so please come along and see if there is something you can do to help.”
Health & Safety Executive (HSE) figures show that up to 70% of hairdressers and beauticians suffer from some sort of skin disease, dermatitis being one of the most common. Dermatitis is a condition that can be caused by the skin coming into contact with chemicals (e.g. hairdressing products) and frequent contact with water. The symptoms include redness, itching, scaling and blistering. If it gets worse the skin can crack and bleed and the condition can spread all over the body. It can result in sickness absence and may even necessitate changing jobs. If it is recognised and treated at an early stage and adequate precautions are taken, most people will make a full recovery, however some people can be affected for life.
In order to address this issue, the HSE and Eastbourne Borough Council, along with many other Councils are teaming up to highlight the potential dangers and promote simple protection methods.
For further information please contact Caroline Wallis or Paul Quanstrom at Eastbourne Borough Council on 01323 415939
