- Healthcare professionals often substitute alcohol-based hand sanitisers and harsh soaps for skin-friendly cleansers in order to treat or prevent irritant contact dermatitis, which develops when chemical or physical agents damage the skin surface faster than the skin can repair
- Incidence and severity of irritant contact dermatitis increased from 20 per cent to 80 per cent amongst healthcare professionals during the Covid-19 pandemic
- Researchers also found non-enveloped viruses such as norovirus were resistant to all hand wash products tested, and were only killed with bleach disinfectants, which aren't a feasible option for washing hands
Gentle cleansers are just as effective in killing viruses - including coronavirus - as harsh soaps, a new study by University of Sheffield experts has found.
Health care professionals often substitute harsh soaps or alcohol-based hand sanitisers with skin-friendly cleansers in order to treat or prevent irritant contact dermatitis - a common skin disease which causes red and swollen skin with a dry and damaged surface.
During the Covid-19 pandemic, incidence and severity of the disease amongst healthcare professionals increased from 20 per cent to 80 per cent.
Despite the widespread use of gentle cleansing products for handwashing, there has been limited evidence to show the antiviral efficacy of the products to prevent the spread of viruses such as human coronavirus, herpes simplex virus, norovirus and influenza.
Scientists from the University of Sheffield's Sheffield Dermatology Research (SDR) group tested multiple handwash products as part of the study. These included antibacterial soap, natural soap, foam cleansers and bath wash products, with the team investigating their ability to kill both enveloped viruses; such as human coronavirus and influenza, which have an additional layer of structural protection; compared to non-enveloped viruses, such as norovirus and adenovirus.
The findings, published in the journal Frontiers Virology, show gentle cleansers were effective in killing enveloped viruses, but non-enveloped viruses displayed resistance against skin-friendly cleansers, as well as harsh soaps.
