How to Prevent Contact Dermatitis
Well-conditioned skin is the basis of prevention
If skin is damaged or irritated, once the damage stops it will, with time, go back to normal. However, if the damage continues before the skin completely heals, eventually the threshold is reached. This is a sub-clinical disease - symptoms are not visible, but the damage is there. Eventually irritant contact dermatitis will reemerge with the cracks, breaks, dry skin, and pain. If repeated irritant contact dermatitis goes untreated, the skin can become a chronic dermatitis problem.
The best barrier to occupational irritant contact dermatitis is healthy skin. Of course, personal protective equipment is important and, to complement that, healthy skin provides a barrier that helps to protect the body against incidental exposure to irritant.
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Healthy SkinHealthy skin is the body's best barrier to infection and outside irritants. Healthy, well-conditioned skin retains more moisture and is less likely to absorb and react to incidental exposure to irritants. |
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Damaged SkinWhen skin becomes damaged, it loses its ability to provide that barrier. Damaged skin permits natural oils and moisture to escape causing further drying and allowing outside substances to irritate and potentially enter the bloodstream. |
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This figure shows a hand that was repeatedly washed. We applied GOJO® HAND MEDIC® Professional Skin Conditioner to one part of the hand to replace lost oils and moisture, and left the other section (red and white area) alone. We then applied a mild irritant to the hand. The result shows increased blood flow due to irritation in the dry (untreated) section of the hand. This illustrates how well-conditioned skin is less likely to react with outside irritants. |