Suitable skin hygiene habits help reduce pruritus of hands and pain in individuals with hand eczema

Hand eczema (HE) is a common inflammatory skin disorder primarily located on the hands and wrist. Among several symptoms of HE, pain and itch are burdensome and prevalent. However, not much research has been performed on the associations between skin hygiene habits and the severity of pain and itch among HE patients. Therefore, Ziye Yang, Department of Dermatology, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, China, and colleagues investigated the relationship between skin hygiene habits and itch and pain severity in patients with hand eczema in a cross-sectional study.

The study was conducted at five universities situated in five geographically dispersed cities: Wuhan, Changsha, Urumqi, Xiamen, and Hohhot. All freshmen who gave informed consent underwent a skin examination and completed an online questionnaire during September and October 2018.

The researchers gathered participants' skin hygiene habits for the past two years through the questionnaire, including the duration, frequency, and water temperature of baths during the autumn and spring seasons, as well as the most frequently used hand washing cleaners routinely and daily frequency of hand washing.

The researchers led to the following findings:

• Increased frequency of hand washing and bathing had a significant association with higher itch and pain numerical rating scale (NRS) scores after adjusting for potential confounders.
• Compared with the use of water for washing hands, the use of hand sanitiser was associated with a higher NRS pain score.

"Promoting and considering suitable skin hygiene practices in the follow-up and treatment of patients with hand eczema can help reduce pruritus of the hands and pain," the researchers concluded.

Reference:

Chen, P., Yang, Z., Li, J., Shen, M., Chen, X., & Xiao, Y. Association between skin hygiene habits and the intensity of itch as well as pain in hand eczema: A cross-sectional study. Journal of the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology. https://doi.org/10.1111/jdv.19618