Cognitive and psychosocial outcome of chronic occupational solvent neurotoxicity

2 COGNITIVE AND PSYCHOSOCIAL OUTCOME OF CHRONIC OCCUPATIONAL SOLVENT NEUROTOXICITY 

Department of Psychology, University of Auckiand, Auckiand, New Zeaiand 

Neurotoxic solvent exposure can result in some workers experiencing nausea, vomiting, loss of appetite, severe headaches, confusion, light-headedness and dermatitis. The solvent may be detectable on their breath and skin for hours and even days after they have left the solvent environment. Most of these symptoms resolve when they stop working with solvents but return when they come into contact with solvents again. Workers who suffer these acute symptoms do not necessarily go on to develop the chronic sjmdrome of OSN, perhaps in many cases because they are so disabled by the acute symptoms they stop working before irreversible damage occurs. Some workers who suffer acute symptoms do remain in the work environment, sometimes because of financial necessity, or because they do not realize the solvents are the cause of their problems.Some workers who develop a chroiuc OSN syndrome have suffered from acute symptoms, but others have not. The reason for these individual differences is not clear. 

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