Excessive hand hygiene practices causing severe skin conditions: Dermatologists

Team Udayavani, Oct 16, 2020, 5:14 PM IST

Amid the pandemic, washing hands and maintaining hand hygiene has become a crucial part of our lives. However, excess of everything has its own disadvantages.

Dermatologists claim that there are adverse effects of following excessive hand hygiene. As reported  by Times of India,people have developed an obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) for rigorous hand hygiene, suffering several skin ailments as a result.

The report further states that excessive handwashing can cause are mild rashes, dermatitis, and in extreme cases, dry eczema and psoriasis. Hand wash and frequent use of alcohol-based hand sanitisers cause severe skin conditions. While effective in killing germs and bacteria, hand sanitisers, when used in excess, can cause severe hand dermatitis.

According to WHO, The first and most common type includes symptoms that can vary from quite mild to debilitating, including dryness, irritation, itching, and even cracking and bleeding. This array of symptoms is referred to as irritant contact dermatitis. The second type of skin reaction, allergic contact dermatitis, is rare and represents an allergy to some ingredient in a hand hygiene product.

Experts suggests that one must avoid using irritant or harsh agents and antiseptics.