Healthcare workers who have or are at risk of having irritant contact dermatitis show a marked improvement in their skin quality with the use of gloves containing aloe vera gel, according to a recently released study published in an issue of the American Journal of Infection Control (AJIC), the official journal of the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology.
A major benefit that has been reported by healthcare workers and their supervisors, many of whom have dry, chapped hands, are washing their hands and wearing these gloves more often. Despite the new guidelines issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on hand hygiene in the healthcare environment, studies show that many healthcare workers are not following the procedures. These gloves, which help soothe and moisturise workers’ hands while they wear them, support those washing and gloving practises.
The clinical study included 30 adult female factory workers who attributed their dry, irritated skin to occupational exposure. The participants wore the Aloe Vera glove for 30 days on one hand and nothing on the other hand. This was followed by 30 days of rest, followed by 10 days of repeated use. With a mean time of 3.5 days, the workers showed a “noticeable” improvement for the hand with the Aloe Vera glove and a “marked” improvement after 10.4 days for the glove hand. No improvement was detected for the non-gloved hand.
The study concluded: “Dry-coated AV (aloe vera) gloves that provide for gradual delivery of AV gel to skin produced a uniformly positive outcome of improved skin integrity, decreased appearance of fine wrinkling, and decreased erythema in the management of occupational dry skin and irritant contact dermatitis.
