%0 Journal Article %A Henrique Silva %E Liliana Tavares %E Rita Faria %E Stefânia Delsin %E Luis Monteiro Rodrigues %I Associação Lusófona para o Desenvolvimento da Investigação e Ensino em Ciências da Saúde %D 2015 %G English %G Portuguese %T Assessing the impact of the regular use (4 weeks) of an alcohol-based hand sanitizer on TEWL and epidermal hydration %J Jornal de Investigação Biomédica e Biofarmacêutica %V 12 %N 2 %U http://www.alies.pt/BBR%20Editions/Vol-12-2-2015/art8_vf.pdf %X The Stratum corneum is a principal protector against physical, chemical, biological aggression and water loss in human skin. The repeated use of alcohol-based hand sanitizers might result in dryness and aggression. This study aims to evaluate the impact of a four week-long regular use of an alcohol-based gel hand sanitizer on skin hydration on the epidermal ‘barrier’ function using a kinetic model to quantify TEWL desorption curves following a POST test. A group of 13 female (19.7 ± 1.0 years old) washed one of their hands for 29 consecutive days with a commercially available ethanol-based gel sanitizer. TEWL, superficial hydration (SH) and deep hydration (DH) were measured on days 1, 8, 15, 22 and 29, while a continuous TEWL recording following a 24 hour POST was made on days 1, 15 and 29 on a second skin area. No differences were found for the control hand throughout the study. For the test hand an increase of TEWL was found between days 1 and 8, as well as an increase of SH and DH between days 1 and 22. No significant differences were found for the kinetic parameters. These results suggest that the frequent use of the sanitizer gel might alter the skin barrier function.