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IntroductionPilonidal sinus (PNS) is a small hole or “tunnel” in the skin that frequently occurs in the sacrococcygeal region. Nevertheless, PNS has been reported to occur between the fingers (interdigital) in barbers, hairdressers, and animal groomers. The aim of this study was to estimate the prevalence of interdigital PNS among animal handlers in Bahrain and to treat any patients encountered.MethodsThis is a cross-sectional study with convenience sampling from November 2020 to October 2021. The study participants were animal handlers from stables, veterinary, and pet shops in Bahrain. There were 43 males and 7 females with direct animal contact. 86% of the study population were handling horses, and 15% were handling different types of animals.ResultsNo positive cases of interdigital PNS among participants were found, this might reflect the positive impact of good personal hygiene among our study population. Our study shows that groomers in Bahrain frequently wash their hands after handling animals, and 98% have a daily habit of bathing after work. It was also estimated that 60% of the participants use gloves to handle animals themselves or their waste.DiscussionThis could be the first study looking at the prevalence of interdigital PNS in animal groomers worldwide. The absence of any case report of interdigital PNS among animal groomers in the recent literature strengthens our assumption that the association between interdigital PNS and hair grooming could be a narrative coincidence rather than a true occupational hazard. The present work may help in better understanding of occupation-disease association, and highlights the importance of mass screening of animal handlers for occupation-dependent health problems.

Background and aims: Formaldehyde (FA) is a colorless toxic gas used as a disinfectant and preservative and known as a carcinogen and strong irritant. Due to its germicidal, preservative and fixative properties, formaldehyde or other chemicals that potentially produce formaldehyde, are used in some cosmetics. OSHA has warned about hair dresser’s exposure to FA higher than threshold limit values. Because of the importance of this air pollutant and the lack of enough studies in Iran, the present study aimed at occupational monitoring of FA exposure in hair salons in Hamedan and Kermanshah cities. Methods: Short term (n=20) and long term (n=45) air samples were collected on sorbent tubes in the breathing zone of selected hair dressers and then analyzed based on methods NIOSH 2016 and 2541, respectively. Results: The concentrations of FA in short-term and long-term samples were in ranges of 0-0.6935 and 0-0.6034 ppm, respectively. There were no statistically significant differences between mean concentrations of FA in long- term and short-term samples and also between studied work tasks (based on used cosmetics). Conclusion: According to obtained results, the concentration of FA in some samples was higher than Iran’s OEL (0.3 ppm). Therefore, it is necessary to do more occupational exposure monitoring and apply control measures such as installing proper ventilation systems, correcting the existing systems, supervising the quality of cosmetics, and training programs for target group.