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Dermatitis - contact - Management
What advice can I give about prevention of further episodes?
- Advise people that preventing further episodes of contact dermatitis relies on avoidance of the causative stimulus.
- If complete avoidance is not possible, advise the person on the use of measures aimed at preventing or minimizing contact with affected areas of skin, for example:
- Rinsing with water or washing with soap or, preferably, a soap substitute as soon as possible after contact (overuse of skin-cleaning agents can aggravate contact dermatitis).
- Substituting products that contain identified allergens or irritants with other products that do not contain them.
- Reducing the duration and frequency of contact with an irritant.
- Using protective clothing. Most irritant contact dermatitis involves the hands, and protective gloves are the mainstay of protection.
- Consider appropriate use of a barrier cream. Barrier creams may help to prevent irritant contact dermatitis, but their use as sole protection against contact with allergens or irritants is not recommended.
- Advise the use of emollient soap substitutes.
- Recommend frequent application of emollients.
In depth
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