ene and surface disinfection FORUM Healthy skin is no coincidence In the first lecture of the symposium, Prof John emphasised the personal responsibility of healthcare professionals in maintaining skin health. He dispelled many myths, including that of ’unavoidable‘ skin changes. He used vivid images of severely damaged skin to raise awareness of the seriousness of occupational contact dermatitis (OCD), which accounts for up to 35% of all occupational diseases in Europe [1] and costs billions of euros each year [2]. In Germany, about one in five nurses is affected [3]. OCD also increases the risk of methicillinresistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) colonisation [4]. Primary prevention: The ’3 moments of skin care‘ Data shows that alcohol-based hand disinfection is less irritating to the skin than soap [5], despite the fact that around 70% of carers believe the opposite [6]. According to Prof John, this misconception leads to a vicious cycle that exacerbates the problem: frequent hand washing dries out the skin, which then burns when the hand is disinfected. Disinfection is then avoided and instead hands are washed more often. This promotes mild hand eczema, which will get worse if the wrong strategy is maintained. Prof John therefore emphasised the importance of good education on how to avoid eczema in the first place - with a tailored prevention approach using the Live demonstration 1 – hand hygiene: Visitors were able to measure the skin moisture of their hands before and after using our hand hygiene products. The result: the skin had already received additional moisture from the proven Sterillium® skin care complex with Sterillium® med and Sterillium® classic pure. With the right skin care and protection, the value could be increased even further. Live demonstration 2 – quality in surface disinfection: On a well-lit black Plexiglas panel, the wetting of the surface by the pre-saturated sustainable wipes was clearly visualised. The result: Our high quality sustainable nonwoven used in Bacillol® 30 Sensitive Green Tissues and Bacillol Zero Tissues wets the surface as well as PET wipes. In addition to wetting, this station also tested the feel and tear strength of various sustainable wipes. Again, the wiping quality of Bacillol® 30 Sensitive Green Tissues and Bacillol Zero Tissues was convincing. Live demonstration 3 – material compatibility: Three Plexiglas rods in a display case were clamped in a holder and moistened with Bacillol® 30 Sensitive Green Wipes, low alcohol wipes, 40-50% alcohol wipes and high alcohol wipes (>70%). When the alcoholic wipes with an alcohol content of > 40% were used, stress cracks occurred and the rods broke after a short time. This experiment was repeated at the request of visitors. 17
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