Elsner P, Maibach H I
Department of Dermatology, School of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco.
Acta Derm Venereol. 1990;70(2):105-9.
The effect of prolonged drying on transepidermal water loss (TEWL), capacitance and pH of vulvar and forearm skin was studied in 15 healthy female volunteers. A desiccation chamber that absorbed water evaporating from the skin surface was applied to the forearm and labia majora skin daily for 4 days. Skin TEWL, capacitance and pH were measured daily and 4 days after removal of the desiccation chamber at the site of drying and at a symmetrical control site. Under desiccation, TEWL both of forearm and of vulvar skin showed an increase during the first days of drying, followed by a gradual decrease. After 4 days of drying, forearm TEWL was reduced to 91% of the control value, without reaching significance. Vulvar TEWL was significantly reduced to 80% of the control value. Although relative reduction of vulvar TEWL was higher than that of forearm TEWL, the absolute of value of vulvar TEWL after drying remained significantly higher than that of forearm TEWL. Skin capacitance significantly decreased under drying both in forearm and vulvar skin. Skin pH was significantly reduced by drying at the vulva, but not at the forearm. It is concluded that although changes in physiological parameters during drying seem to be more pronounced in vulvar than in forearm skin, differences suggest that the specific properties of vulvar skin are not explained by anatomically related occlusion alone.
在15名健康女性志愿者中，研究了长时间干燥对外阴和前臂皮肤经表皮水分流失（TEWL）、电容及pH值的影响。每天将一个吸收从皮肤表面蒸发水分的干燥箱应用于前臂和大阴唇皮肤，持续4天。在干燥部位和对称的对照部位，每天以及去除干燥箱4天后测量皮肤的TEWL、电容和pH值。在干燥过程中，前臂和外阴皮肤的TEWL在干燥的最初几天均呈现升高，随后逐渐下降。干燥4天后，前臂TEWL降至对照值的91%，但未达到显著差异。外阴TEWL显著降至对照值的80%。尽管外阴TEWL的相对降低幅度高于前臂TEWL，但干燥后外阴TEWL的绝对值仍显著高于前臂TEWL。干燥过程中，前臂和外阴皮肤的电容均显著降低。干燥使外阴皮肤的pH值显著降低，但前臂皮肤的pH值未受影响。结论是，尽管干燥过程中生理参数的变化在外阴皮肤似乎比前臂皮肤更明显，但这些差异表明，外阴皮肤的特殊性质不能仅用解剖学相关的闭塞来解释。
