One of the most repeated gestures in the last two years, that of washing hands, can conceal a serious health risk. Maximum alert to these signals
Over the past two years, the health emergency has forced everyone to deeply review your personal hygiene. If even before the pandemic people were attentive and scrupulous, since the arrival of Sars-CoV-2 everything has changed: sanitizing surfaces and washing hands have become spontaneous gestures, rather than daily ones.
As with everything, however, washing hands can also be a dangerous gesture. There are some mistakes that we could pay very dearly and that we all make, unknowingly. On the contrary: we think they do just fine. Here’s what never to do and what risks you run.
Wash your hands: be careful what you choose
One of the most powerful weapons in the fight against Sars-CoV-2 is precisely that of the hand washing. Keeping them sanitized, especially if you work in contact with dirty surfaces, is essential to avoid carrying the virus around, perhaps passing it from one person to another. Frequent hand washing, however, can cause an annoying skin pathology, the DIC: irritative contact dermatitis.
In the past two years, this pathology has seen an incredible increase in circulation numbers precisely because of the frequent washing we subject our hands to. Often and willingly, in fact, we use too aggressive soaps and sanitizing gels alcohol-based. Although these are useful for reducing the spread of the virus, they have an abrasive and drying effect on the skin that causes dermatitis, eczema and cracking of the skin.
The soap, in fact, strongly alters the epidermal balance: destroys lipids and therefore promotes dehydration of the hands, causing cracks, fissures and peeling. As soon as you notice these symptoms, change your habit immediately and try to use soap only in case of real need, limiting the number of complete washes. Dermatitis, if not treated, can in fact become chronic: at that point it is very difficult to manage and control it.
One way to tell if you are exaggerating or wrong is to check the foam. If we have too much soap at home, for example, that’s not a good sign. This in fact destroys the lipids of the epidermis: it is preferable to choose oil-based detergents, which clean by affinity and not by contrast. In this way, by opting for vegetable oils and oil baths, you can remain sanitized and clean without breaking down the hydrolipidic film, essential for skin well-being.