BE WISE WHEN YOU SANITISE
Janine Mendes-Franco
One of the most practical measures you can take to protect yourself against COVID-19 is to properly wash your hands for at least 20 seconds at a time, and ideally every 20 minutes. Naturally, this means that you will be using soap, antibacterial wipes and alcohol-based hand sanitisers much more frequently than usual.
You absolutely must do this, because proper hygiene is critical in stopping the spread of the virus. The downside is the drying effect that constant hand washing can have on your skin. If your skin is particularly sensitive or you have a pre-existing skin condition, you may notice redness, painful inflammation, cracking, blistering, itchiness or flaking – all signs of hand eczema.
To stop the dryness and irritation from getting to that stage, we’ve put together a few “handy” tips on how to keep your hands both clean and moisturised…
1. When washing your hands, use lukewarm water and a fragrance-free cleanser.
2. Rather than roughly rubbing hands dry, gently pat them and apply a fragrance-free moisturiser immediately afterwards. Creams, being oil-based, are more effective than water-based lotions at locking in moisture. (SkinCeuticals Neck, Chest & Hand Repair is a good choice, and under the current circumstances, we’ve started a delivery service.)
3. Try to avoid wearing jewellery, especially rings, since it can trap soap and cause irritation.
4. Overnight application of hand barrier creams like Vaseline, Aquaphor and Cicaplast (some of which contain the compound dimethacone, great for sealing the skin’s barrier) can go a long way in healing skin that is already cracked.
5. Itchiness usually requires the prescription of a topical steroid cream, but over-the-counter hydrocortisone creams are a good stopgap measure until you can see your dermatologist. In the interim, we’re happy to accommodate video consultations via WhatsApp – just give us a call at 225.2660 to set up your appointment.
Stay safe! The more we all follow these prevention measures, is the sooner we’ll be able to end this pandemic.