Letter From the Editor

Blocked noses are a common occurrence. The average reader will not readily suspect an occupational rhinitis. In this issue the Professor of allergology at the Erasmus Medical Center, Roy Gerth van Wijk, and the Chairman of the Netherlands Society of Clinical Occupational Medicine, Leo Elders, discuss the backgrounds of work-related rhinitis. In certain occupations this is an occupational disorder which in many cases can lead to a cessation of work. Many occupational physicians and insurance physicians will never see it in their surgery. It affects probably many self-employed workers in, for instance, agriculture, market gardening and bakeries. The prevalence is, however, relevant and thus deserves attention in TBV. Occupational asthma is another such disorder. Occupational physicians and insurance physicians rarely encounter it, or in any case rarely report it as an occupational disorder. The contribution by the Netherlands Center for Occupational Diseases (NCvB) tries to draw attention to this subject. Producing our daily fare such as bread, fruit and vegetables presents a real risk of an occupational allergy. …