Dermatological concerns of healthcare workers (HCWs) amidst the COVID-19 pandemic

At present, the whole world is going through the coronavirusdisease 2019 (covid-19) pandemic, which is taking its toll onhealthcare workers (hcws) as well as patients. in fact, hcwsare not only at risk of acquiring the disease but also suffer fromvarious problems related to prolonged work in a stressful situationwith full personal protective equipment (ppe), which may leadto adverse cutaneous effectswe used search engines to look for data on the dermatologicalproblems in hcws owing to frequent handwashing and to theuse of ppe. the search terms used were ‘covid-19’, ‘healthcareworker’, ‘dermatoses’, ‘personal protective equipment’, and‘hand hygiene.’healthcare workers are susceptible to various dermatoses causedby multiple confluent factors including working for long hoursin ppe, which is usually snug-fitting and includes headgear,masks, goggles, gloves, boot covers, and surgical gowns. theyalso are subjected to frequent hand cleansing, often more than20 times a day. all this has led to various dermatoses causedby friction, pressure, humidity, irritation, as well as allergicresponses to the equipment used in almost all those who workfor prolonged periods in ppe, as shown by various case seriesand reports. steps are being formulated to minimize theseadverse cutaneous effects through appropriate measures thatmust be taken by hcws. healthcare workers are susceptible tovarious dermatoses caused by excessive hand hygiene practicesand prolonged usage of ppe. proper counseling minimizes the morbidity by promotingprotective measures.