Hand hygiene and caring for your hands has never been so important.
Washing your hands is an effective way to help reduce the spread of coronavirus, protecting yourself and your patients. However, frequent hand washing can lead to and exacerbate dry skin issues including contact dermatitis – a painful, debilitating condition which may require nursing staff to be moved out of clinical areas due to the risk of infection.
Protect your hands by regularly applying hand moisturiser after handwashing and at the end of each work period. Your employer should have a programme of skin checks in place for nursing staff exposed to the risk of work-related dermatitis.