Journal de recherche clinique et expérimentale en dermatologie
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Does Personal Protective Equipment Lead To Skin Damages?

Thamir Abdulmajeed Alkubaisi

Objective: Healthcare institutions must give offer to supply the Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) to medical staff. A variety of skin diseases may result from prolonged contact with this equipment.

Design: The study is shed light on the cutaneous abnormal reactions to the PPE among the medical workers and offers solutions.

Methods: This cross-sectional study involved doctors, dentists, pharmacists, and nurses in the high-risk Ramadi General Teaching Hospital and low-risk Private Clinics, Anbar Governorate, Iraq. Between 4 July till 10 August 2020.

Results: A quantitative descriptive research included age, gender, the duration and type of used masks, gloves, Goggles/face shield, and/or gown. About 23 questions described the adverse skin reactions chiefly that involve the skin. A total of 196 participants were recruited for the online questionnaire, including (49.5%) doctor, (15.3%) dentist, (16.8%) pharmacist, and (18.4%) nurse, with a significant involvement between 20-29 years old age. The use of the mask and glove were associated significantly with an adverse skin reaction, like a wound, dry lips, Acne and/ or folliculitis, hand dryness, erythema, itching, wrinkle, nail fracture. While workers who regularly used gowns had a negative correlation with adverse skin reactions including erythema with pruritus of trunk and shoulders, miliaria and pityriasis versicolor.

Conclusions: PPE may develop mild dermatological adverse effects. This needs early diagnosis and treatment. There are many dermatological advices that may be helpful to avoid these unwanted effects.