Handle with care

Restoring the lost lipid barrier after repeated hand washing is key to avoid dermatitis, suggests Dr Veenu Jindal

Hand hygiene has become the mainstay of prevention of Covid-19 transmission. It includes frequent washing of hands with soap for a minimum of 20 seconds and/or use of hand sanitisers. Hand hygiene products can be: alcohol-based (hand) rub, antimicrobial (medicated) soaps, antiseptic hand wipes or plain soaps. For household usage, plain soaps are apt. They cause less dryness as compared to alcohol-derived products.

The top layer of our skin is composed of dead cells with lipids between them which together form the skin barrier. Frequent washing leads to a reduction of this lipid layer causing dryness. Hand dermatitis is more common in children suffering from atopic dermatitis or adults having pre-existing eczema as their barriers are already defective. The symptoms include excessive dryness, itching, flaking, burning sensation, development of cracks and fissures and even bleeding in extreme cases.

Prevention

After washing hands with plain soap, dry your hands using a paper towel or a clean cloth. It is important to pat dry hands instead of vigorously rubbing them as that can lead to the development of cracks. As wet hands can more readily acquire and spread microorganisms, the proper drying of hands is an integral part of routine hand washing.

After drying, hand creams/ emollients should be applied generously on both the hands and also between the fingers. Petroleum jelly is an effective and easily available moisturiser.

If you want to use a hand sanitiser after washing hands, wait for the hands to dry first. This is important because wet hands increase the penetration of sanitisers inside, causing more damage.

Also, one should wait for the sanitiser to dry before applying creams otherwise it can get trapped in between the fingers causing allergies.

Creams should preferably be non-perfumed and hypo-allergenic and should be highly moisturising.

They help in restoring the lost lipid barrier and reduce the chances of allergies. They should be applied after every hand wash and whenever the skin feels dry.

(The author is a dermatologist)