Is your skin reddened and rough? Are the first fine cracks appearing between your fingers? "No surprise", you might think. "I’ve never washed and sanitised my hands so often in my whole life." Sanitisers in particular are often associated with dry skin and eczema. But this association is not necessarily correct. In fact, water and soap do more harm to your hands than a good-quality sanitiser. The only exception is when a hand cream is used after hand washing.
More and more people are developing itchy hand eczema
Workers in medical or social professions know how harmful skin diseases can be. Now that we all are more confronted with the issue of hand cleanliness and hand sanitising; scaly and dry spots, the feeling of tight skin or redness are getting more common to the rest of us.
Take these signs seriously and question your care routine. For many people it will quickly be clear that these symptoms are caused by the hand sanitiser they use. After all, sanitisers generally contain between 60 and 80 percent alcohol, as recommended by the World Health Organisation (WHO), and alcohol is well-known for its ability to remove water.
Excessive hand washing leads to skin irritation
But this assumption that sanitiser is to blame is not necessarily true. Instead excessive hand washing is often the cause of skin irritation. Dermatologist Professor Christoph Skudlik says: "Soap attacks the skin barrier." The head physician of the institute iDerm based at the University of Osnabrück warns that moisture escapes and small cracks and injuries occur when using soap and water too often. This is not only unpleasant but also dangerous. Because via these microcracks harmful pathogens can enter our body and make us sick.
But the lack of moisture can be easily compensated with hand creams after hand washing. "Keep your skin hydrated with moisturisers that are well-formulated and from brands you trust. Keeping your hands moisturised will increase the natural lipids and moisturising factors already present in your skin, boost skin cell turnover, and relieve dryness", health expert Jim Arbogast emphasises.
Hand washing plus hand cream
However, using skin creams at work can be difficult because some creams have a long exposure time and leave an oily film on the skin. This provides an ideal breeding ground for germs that can easily get stuck in it after touching objects. Pathogens love the warm and humid climate on our hands and flourish splendidly. With just one touch on our face, they can get onto our mucous membranes and enter the body.
So what is the alternative to all this? Hand sanitising is more skin- and health-friendly. But it has to be done with a product that contains caring additives, that is absorbed quickly and that leaves nothing but a pleasant, nourished feeling on the skin shortly after use. The substances contained in the product should replace the lipids that are removed from the skin duringsanitising. This allows hands to remain well-nourished and optimally protected against environmental influences.
Hand sanitising instead of hand washing
For precisely these reasons, it is common practice for health care professions to use a mixture of hand washing and hand sanitising throughout the day. We should all follow their example in the current situation.
The German Employer's Liability Insurance Association for Health Service and Welfare Work (BGW) advises doctors, nurses or carers to wash their hands with soap and water at the start of the work day and during the course of the working day only if they are visibly dirty.
Here is how to use a hand sanitiser correctly:
- Apply the product to dry hands.
- Rub your hands, wrists, the area around your fingernails and the spaces between your fingers for at least 30 seconds.
- Wait until the skin is completely dry.
Stay healthy!
