This blog is not intended as advice. It is for educational and research purposes only. Read this disclaimer first if you want to read this post.
Some people are now proudly boasting they are now washing their hands 40 times a day. Though the skin is an amazing barrier to the outside world including infections, it was not designed for frequent hand washing or sanitising. Though damaged skin may not be a major route of infection for COVID-19, secondary bacterial infections will readily enter through damaged skin.
Trans-epidermal water loss (TEWL) is a way of measuring the damage to the skin when they are scrubbed or protective skin lipids are removed. As the protective barrier of the outer layer, the stratum corneum is disrupted, there is an increase in the loss of water vapour through the skin. Even before there is any visible (clinical) changes to the skin, the TEWL increases significantly.
The method works using two sensors in a tube placed on the skin to to determine the humidity gradients. It is quick and non-invasive.
I would expect that hand washing in hospitals is changing from a vague ritual to being done seriously. Along with that is skin damage and very few hospitals would have a skin care problem. Ritualised superficial cleaning would not produce major skin issues.
Last time I looked TEWL devices (there are a number of manufacturers) for the skin cost about $6000USD. However, they can be used very powerfully to monitor skin health now that hand washing and sanitising has got serious. It is widely used in the cosmetic industry. See YouTube.
