A new study from the University of Manchester has revealed that dermatitis has increased 4.5 times in healthcare workers following increased hand-hygiene efforts, according to an article on the Infection Control Today.
The implications of increasing levels of irritant dermatitis are potentially counter-productive to the aims of infection reducing campaigns, the article said.
Infections remain longer on damaged skin and having irritated skin can put people off washing their hands.
"Obviously we don't want people to stop washing their hands, so more needs to be done to procure less irritating products and to implement practices to prevent and treat irritant contact dermatitis," Dr. Jill Stocks, who led the research.
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