Patna: Regular use of sanitisers, soaps can cause eczema, claims report

PATNA: A team of medical researchers, including one from the All India Institute of Medical Sciences-Patna (AIIMS-P), has claimed in a study that frequent use of soaps or sanitisers for handwash to keep away the Covid-19 infection may lead to hand eczema.
A first observational report of an ongoing research work came online last week in the Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology, the official journal of the International Academy of Cosmetic Dermatology.
Dr Swetlina Pradhan, the head of department of dermatology at AIIMS-P, said the clinical observations was based on about 100 patients, who contacted the department through phone, WhatsApp or other means for medical suggestions. It was found that frequent handwash with soaps, detergent or chemical sanitisers led to skin problems in their hands.
Most of them did not have any skin-related ailments before repeated use of soaps, detergent or sanitisers to wash hands. “Frequent handwashing disrupts natural hydro lipid mantle of the skin, leading to changes in intercellular lipid by causing their depletion or reorganization. After damage to lipid barrier, the chemicals present in soap, detergent or sanitisers may easily penetrate the skin, causing deeper damage and leading to contact dermatitis or eczema,” Dr Pradhan said.
Soon with the coming of the Covid-19 pandemic, the medical experts and even governments issued guidelines asking people to adopt at least three measures — use of mask, social distancing and frequent handwash — after getting in contact with any other person or open surface for protection against the viral infections.
Handwashing thus became a desirable exercise not only at homes but also in offices and commercial places. But now, medical researchers are busy probing its impact on dermal health. “The researchers have now started examining the hand skin of health workers, including hospital staff, who have to frequently wash their hands in course of looking after the patients in the dedicated Covid wards,” she said.
Pradhan said, handwashing with alcohol based sanitisers caused lesser damage than soaps and detergents. She, however, warned that alcohol based sanitisers can also dissolve the lipid layer of skin.
Other researchers associated with this work are George Kroumpouzos of Medical School at Jundiai in Brazil and Mohamad Goldust of the University Hospital at Basel in Switzerland.