ZahrAllayali Ahmed, Al-Doboke Amal, Alosaimy Rawan, Alabbasi Renan, Alharbi Sara, Fageeh Sarah, Altayyar Shahad, Azher Ruqayya
Dermatology, Department of Internal Medicine, College of Medicine, Umm Al-Qura University, Al-Abdia Main Campus, Makkah, Saudi Arabia.
College of Medicine, Umm Al-Qura University, Al-Abdia Main Campus, Makkah, Saudi Arabia.
Clin Cosmet Investig Dermatol. 2021 Jul 13;14:889-899. doi: 10.2147/CCID.S309681. eCollection 2021.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, recommendations to prevent infection suggest increasing the frequency of handwashing and disinfection; however, these measures can have negative implications on our skin. This study aims to evaluate whether these measures correlate with new-onset skin damage or can exacerbate hand eczema among the general population.
This was a descriptive, cross-sectional, survey-based study, including the general population of Mecca region, Saudi Arabia. To achieve the study's aim, an online questionnaire to the general population comprising 25 items was distributed via social media apps during the pandemic between October 23 and November 21, 2020. Data were automatically collected in Excel and entered into SPSS for analysis.
A total of 783 participants were included in this study, of whom 695 (88.8%) were female. A history of hand eczema was reported among 123 (15.7%) participants, and 270 (34.5%) had a history of atopy. During the COVID-19 pandemic, 86 (13.0%) participants noticed new-onset skin irritation, while 81 (31.3%) of the participants reported exacerbation of earlier hand allergic dermatitis. The most frequent symptoms were dryness and feeling of tightness. Additionally, most participants among both groups noticed that skin lesions appeared for less than 10 days. The frequent handwashing statistically increased following the onset of the pandemic (p=0.001), there is association between new-onset symptoms and more frequent handwashing, as well as the use of hand disinfectants, during the pandemic (p=0.001).
Our study suggests that the general population's skin was negatively affected by COVID-19 precautions, particularly those with a history of hand eczema. We recommend spreading awareness of skin protective modalities and the use of new infection prevention measures, such as regular skin moisturization for hand protection and possibly using less damaging skin disinfectants like ozonized water provided it is scientifically proven effective in disinfecting COVID-19 virus.
由于新冠疫情，预防感染的建议提出要增加洗手和消毒的频率；然而，这些措施可能会对我们的皮肤产生负面影响。本研究旨在评估这些措施是否与新发皮肤损伤相关，或者是否会加重普通人群的手部湿疹。
这是一项基于调查的描述性横断面研究，研究对象包括沙特阿拉伯麦加地区的普通人群。为实现研究目的，在2020年10月23日至11月21日疫情期间，通过社交媒体应用程序向普通人群发放了一份包含25个项目的在线问卷。数据自动收集到Excel中，并录入SPSS进行分析。
本研究共纳入783名参与者，其中695名（88.8%）为女性。123名（15.7%）参与者有手部湿疹病史，270名（34.5%）有特应性病史。在新冠疫情期间，86名（13.0%）参与者注意到有新发皮肤刺激症状，而81名（31.3%）参与者报告早期手部过敏性皮炎加重。最常见的症状是干燥和紧绷感。此外，两组中的大多数参与者都注意到皮肤损伤出现的时间少于10天。疫情爆发后，频繁洗手在统计学上有所增加（p=0.001），在疫情期间，新发症状与更频繁的洗手以及使用手部消毒剂之间存在关联（p=0.001）。
我们的研究表明，新冠疫情防控措施对普通人群的皮肤产生了负面影响，尤其是那些有手部湿疹病史的人。我们建议提高对皮肤保护方式的认识，并使用新的感染预防措施，如定期手部皮肤保湿，以及在科学证明对新冠病毒消毒有效的情况下，可能使用破坏性较小的皮肤消毒剂，如臭氧水。
