Plant Dermatitis is a well know and acknowledged affliction that affects the lives of millions throughout
the globe. It is as disabling as it is common, and has a long and varied history of accompaniment with
man throughout history. Pliny the Younger in the first century is the first man to have recorded the experience of an itching while sawing pine logs. In real terms, little has changed, a forester
is as likely to contract itching from Pine as then, 2000 years ago. Everything has remained static.
Gloves and overalls have always been made available, but are loose, unfashionable and very hot.
Treatment is as then, using herbs to treat the affliction which have become known over the centuries.
People have learnt to avoid the plants that are most capable of causing it, but only specialists have
athourough knowledge.
The authorities that are most capable of treating and eliminating this affliction are to blame. For to
long have they neglected the lives and health of those people in the largest industry of Great Britain: horticulture and agriculture. Laws concerning the affliction remain inadequate, treatment is ineffective, protection is not dispersed, education is negligible. This is a very grave problem that costs millions in lost revenue, in an industry that is desperately in need of recruitment. What I aim to do in this thesis
is to prove these facts through research of cases, surveys, literature, and from the study the affliction,
the skin, and associated protective, preventative measures, argue why the current war on the affliction
is failing to do its duty to protect the sufferers, and then detail my action programme for the elimination
of the affliction by 2002, through subtle changes in the law, treatment, protection and education.
I believe I will be able to address this situation as it contains an important factor: economics:
The horticultural worker is an asset, he is often specialised in his field, and many will spend their life
in the same occupation because of the pleasant outdoor life, and simple operations asked of them.
These people may be hard to find however, because the jobs are low paid, mucky. The employer
has therefore a limited pool of resources in his hands. He must learn to treat his employee well, he
is irreplaceable, the item which helps the business break even or bust. This means making his job
as safe, enjoyable and productive as possible. Without the proper care and attention of his mind, body
and health, he is susceptible to disease, this means loss of profit. Societies approach to the affliction must change for the better.
Dermatitis In the Horticulture Industry By James M. Burton In Association With Pencoed College Copyright 1997.