The global coronavirus disease pandemic (COVID-19) has led to an increased need to wear protective equipment such as wearing face masks and practicing hygiene measures such as more frequent use of antiseptics. These measures can lead to changes in the skin, the development of new inflammatory skin diseases or exacerbation of existing ones, with health professionals especially under the risk of developing these changes. Changes in the skin of the hands due to the use of antiseptics have been observed in a number of studies, however, part of the study was based solely on subjects' self-assessment or clinical assessment of researchers, and only a small part on objective measurements of skin parameters. Also, the impact of prolonged use of antiseptics and the impact of measures to prevent and protect against irritation such as topical application of emollient preparations have not been investigated. The impact of repeated use of antiseptics in the repeated exposure model on the forearms will be investigated. This model is a modification of the existing model of irritative dermatitis induced by sodium lauryl sulfate where the original irritant was replaced by an antiseptic solution.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
DOUBLE
Enrollment
20
Commercially available emollient cream
University of Split School of Medicine
Split, Croatia
RECRUITINGTransepidermal water loss change
Tewameter will be used to assess skin barrier function as a measurement of the water loss (g/hm2).
Time frame: Baseline value measurements on the first day of trial, during the three weeks the skin is repeatedly exposed to antiseptic as well recovery during the following two weeks
Stratum corneum hydration change
Corneometer will be used to estimate skin dryness. It is a relative measurement and uses arbitrary units (AU).
Time frame: Baseline value measurements on the first day of trial, during the three weeks the skin is repeatedly exposed to antiseptic as well recovery during the following two weeks
Erythema change
Mexameter will be used to assess erythema. It is a relative measurement and uses arbitrary units (AU).
Time frame: Baseline value measurements on the first day of trial, during the three weeks the skin is repeatedly exposed to antiseptic as well recovery during the following two weeks
Melanin content change
Mexameter will be used to assess skin melanin content. It is a relative measurement and uses arbitrary units (AU).
Time frame: Baseline value measurements on the first day of trial, during the three weeks the skin is repeatedly exposed to antiseptic as well recovery during the following two weeks
Clinical score
Skin response to irritation and treatment will be assessed using a five-point scale (0, 1/2, 1, 2 and 3) to describe changes in skin erythema, roughness, scaling, oedema, and fissures, with higher score signifying a worse outcome.
Time frame: Baseline value measurements on the first day of trial, during the three weeks the skin is repeatedly exposed to antiseptic as well recovery during the following two weeks
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