Coronavirus and skin care: FAQs and tips for healthy skin during the pandemic

Changes to your lifestyle can cause changes to your skin. The COVID-19 outbreak has altered everyone's habits. Whether you're staying at home or you're an essential worker, your skin is likely to be noticing the difference.
 

We recently spoke with a leading dermatologist, Dr Deirdre Buckley , who answered for us some of your FAQs about coronavirus and skin care.
 

What is the best way to clean my skin to avoid spreading COVID-19?

You need to follow the advice of the Department of Health and Social Care to wash your hands with soap and water immediately when you enter your home, and before you eat. I recommend that after each handwash you use a gel-based moisturiser such as Doublebase Gel, to stop your hands drying out.
 

How can I ensure I don’t irritate my skin when cleaning my face and hands?

The skin will become irritated with frequent cleaning and use of alcohol gel/hand sanitiser, especially in those with a tendency to dry skin or eczema. You need to counteract this by frequent moisturising. I recommend Doublebase Gel during the day and Hydromol Ointment at bedtime on the hands, and Aveeno Cream or LaRoche Posay Toleriane Ultra moisturiser on the face.
 

What is the best soap to use to clean my face and hands?

To cleanse the face I recommend Cetaphil Cleanser. During the Covid-19 pandemic the hands should be washed with commercial soap (bar or liquid), as the detergent effect disrupts the wall of the virus and denatures it. Soap substitutes such as Dermol 500 are not known to be effective against Covid-19.
 

What are your tips for maintaining healthy skin during the lockdown?

I suggest you get plenty of sleep and try to take some form of exercise each day. You should moisturise your hands many times during the day with a gel-based moisturiser such as Doublebase Gel, and moisturise your hands at night with a greasy moisturiser such as Hydromol Ointment. I recommend Aveeno Cream or LaRoche Posay Toleriane Ultra moisturiser on the face.

If I have a condition such as psoriasis am I more susceptible to complications from coronavirus?

There is no evidence that psoriasis itself predisposes to complications from Covid-19. However, there is a link between very severe psoriasis and obesity . Obesity and its resulting health problems, like high blood pressure and diabetes, convey a susceptibility to more severe Covid-19 infection. To date we don’t have specific evidence that immunosuppressive drugs like methotrexate, used to suppress severe psoriasis, predispose to more severe manifestations of Covid-19, but we recommend more strict social distancing in patients taking these treatments, similar to the recommendations for elderly people, and pausing the medicine if the psoriasis is well controlled.
 

Can personal protective equipment worn during the pandemic cause skin issues?

Personal protective equipment (also known as PPE) causes very significant skin problems, such as sore broken skin on the nose from the pressure of tight goggles and masks. The British Society for Cutaneous Allergy and the British Association of Dermatologists are publishing regular joint updates on the website of the British Association of Dermatologists to advise health professionals. Our aim is to treat and prevent these skin problems, which may be so severe as to cause front line clinical staff to be unable to work.
 

If you’re currently experiencing any skin problems or if you have any further questions, you may like to book an appointment or e-Consultation with one of our top dermatologists such as Dr Deirdre Buckley . Visit her Top Doctors profile today.