Sick Building Syndrome (redirected from Mucocutaneous irritation)

sick building syndrome

n.

An illness affecting workers in office buildings, characterized by skin irritations, headache, and respiratory problems, and thought to be caused by indoor pollutants, microorganisms, or inadequate ventilation.

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Sick building syndrome

An illness related to MCS in which a person develops symptoms in response to chronic exposure to airborne environmental chemicals found in a tightly sealed building.

Mentioned in: Multiple Chemical Sensitivity

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sick building syndrome,

a condition characterized by fatigue, headache, dry eyes, and respiratory complaints affecting workers in certain buildings with limited ventilation. The symptoms seem to be caused by a combination of chemical agents in low concentrations rather than a specific irritant.

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Sick Building Syndrome

A condition defined by the World Health Organisation as '... excess work-related irritation of mucocutaneous surfaces and other symptoms—e.g., headache, fatigue, difficulty concentrating—reported by workers in modern office buildings.'

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sick building syndrome

Tight building syndrome Public health A condition defined by the WHO, as excess work-related irritation of mucocutaneous surfaces and other Sx–eg, headache, fatigue, difficulty concentrating, reported by workers in modern office buildings. See Building biology, Environmental disease.

Sick building syndrome–clinical features

Hypersensitivity Hypersensitivity pneumonitis and allergic alveolitis in response to various microorganisms eg water-borne ameba, known as 'humidifier lung'

Allergies Allergic rhinitis and asthma, due to dust mites

Infections Mini-epidemics, eg Legionnaire's disease, Pontiac fever, by low-level airborne pathogens that thrive in stagnate water and are disseminated through poorly-maintained air conditioning systems

Mucocutaneous irritation Skin eruptions, due to fiberglass, mineral wool or other particles; contact lens wearers may suffer corneal abrasions

Mucosal irritation Dry throat, cough, tightness in chest, sinus congestion and sneezing–formerly due to tobacco smoke, which is increasingly banned in buildings, solvents and cleaning materials, eg chlorine, reactions to photochemicals or other toxins, eg in laser printers due to the styrene-butadiene toners and ozone production by photocopiers

Pseudoepidemics Due to 'mass hysteria'