Keeping skin safe despite frequent hand washing

YUMA, Ariz. (KYMA, KECY) - As many people are washing their hands more often due to COVID-19, this can cause some damage to the skin.

Dr. Peter Helton, a dermatologist, says frequent hand washing is important, but it comes with proper after-care.

"There's something called a moisture barrier that your skin has that protects your skin from the environment and constant hand washing will disrupt that moisture barrier, resulting in dry hands," Dr. Helton stated.

Dr. Helton emphasizes the importance of re-moisturizing every time you wash your hands.

"In the beginning, it's just sort of dry hands but over time it becomes thickened skins and starts to be forming these little micro-cracks, sometimes even larger cracks in your skin," Dr. Helton said.

These cracks in the skin make it more prone to a bacterial or viral infection.

He also ranked the types of disinfectants and their gentleness on the skin. He placed hand washing as number one followed by hand sanitizers. A distant third would be hand wipes.

"Lysol, you know, that probably kills 98%, but there's a lot of other ingredients in there that can interact with your skin and dry your skins off," Dr. Helton said. "So, I certainly wouldn't recommend that, you know, 10 times a day."

Gloves are meant for short-term uses; therefore, wearing gloves for long periods of time can attract bacteria and viruses.

"Wearing gloves all the time's not helpful either. You know, what happens is, if you cover something, you increase its penetration, so if you add some, you know, pathogen on your hands by putting gloves on, you're actually increasing penetration inside your body."

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention still suggests hand washing is an important step in preventing the spread of COVID-19.

Tune in to 13 On Your Side at 4 p.m. and 6 p.m as April Hettinger explains why it is important to moisturize.

For more information on safe hand lotions, contact Mineli Gagliano at (800) 600-1881.