[Occupational rhinitis and asthma].

Allergic rhinoconjunctivits and asthma are frequent diseases. About one in ten asthma cases is caused by an occupational hazard, either by an allergic or a non-immunologic mechanism. Primary or secondary preventive measures should be able to prevent these cases. Often, occupational rhinitis precedes the development of occupational asthma. Important causative agents are flours, plant and enzyme powders, laboratory animals, latex, isocyanates and hardeners, epoxy resins, acrylates, formaldehyde and welding fumes. Early diagnosis and the installation of protective measures are decisive for the prognosis of occupational respiratory disease.