How to Wash your Hands if you have a Skin Condition

How to Wash your Hands if you have a Skin Condition

COVID 19 or Coronavirus has emerged as the most serious medical threat looming over people all over the world. The only way to prevent the infection from spreading is to wash your hands frequently with soap and water for twenty seconds or use a sanitizer with 70% alcohol content.

While this is a must keeping in mind the strict hygiene rules to be followed, people with skin conditions like Psoriasis and Eczema, and skin reactions like contact dermatitis need to be extra careful about frequent hand

washing. It is essential that people with dry skin use a moisturizer after washing hands.

The Skin Reactions that arise from Frequent Hand Washing Two major types of skin reactions can be associated with hand hygiene. The first and most common type includes symptoms like dryness, irritation, itching, and even cracking and bleeding. This is called irritant contact dermatitis. The second type of skin reaction, allergic contact dermatitis, is rare and represents an allergy to some ingredient in the handwashing product.

Frequent and repeated use of hand hygiene products, particularly soaps and other detergents, is an important cause of chronic irritant contact dermatitis. Further, soaps and detergents damage the skin by causing loss of skin lipids, particularly in individuals with ​dry skin​.

Anti-septic agents like chlorhexidine, chloroxylenol, triclosan, and alcohol-based products may cause irritant contact dermatitis. Other factors may include using hot water for hand-washing, low relative humidity (most common in winter months in the northern hemisphere), failure to use supplementary ​hand cream​, etc.

How to care for hands if you have a skin condition?

So how do you wash your hands if you have these skin reactions or the afore-mentioned skin problems?

Experts say that “Repetitive use of hand sanitizers and handwashing can strip the proteins in the epidermis (top skin layer), leading to a compromise of the skin barrier…” Those who have pre-existing skin conditions are more at risk of skin damage. These people, skin doctors suggest can benefit from hand washing with a moisturizer that contains an antibacterial ingredient, or using a ​moisturizer​ ​after using soap and water or alcohol-based sanitizers.

Dermatologists stress on using a ​hand cream​ or ​moisturizer​ to treat hand dermatitis. Since hand washing is essential, individuals who have particularly dry hands or skin conditions should use emollients to minimize damage and consider buying emollient soap substitutes (like ​body washes​).

Moisturize to Avoid Dry, Itching Hands

If you have ​dry skin​, ​hand cream​ with natural oils is a lifesaver. A blend of botanical oils and natural wax can soothe, moisturize and repair skin.

Remember to reapply every time you wash your hands.

Use a hydrating ​body lotion​ and moisturizer with Activated Vitamin C and white birch extract to even out your skin tone and replenish moisture.

Instead of using soap and water, try using a​ ​body wash​ ​that is mild and has natural components like soy milk and honey that cleanse without drying your skin. A creamy body wash with honey, jojoba and shea butters and sweet almond oil, can be used in the shower or bath to exfoliate dry skin gently.

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And please, please protect yourself and loved ones from the dreaded Covid 19!