Incorporation of a barrier protection cream in the management of chronic hand dermatitis: focus on data supporting an established hand protectant formulation and modifications designed to assist in barrier repair.

A commonly encountered skin disorder in outpatient dermatology practice is hand dermatitis. In a considerable subset of patients, hand dermatitis can be a major source of prolonged distress when a pattern of chronicity develops due to repeated exposure to a variety of potential etiological factors. Most of the etiological factors are exogenous in nature. Hand dermatitis is an equal opportunity disease that affects both genders and occurs in individuals from all ethnic and cultural backgrounds. It is important to note that the term hand dermatitis does not refer to one specific diagnostic entity. Rather, hand dermatitis refers to multiple patterns of clinical disease that can be induced by a variety of exogenous sources. Occupational exposures with inadequate hand protection may be an important cause of epidermal barrier disruption, and in some cases contact allergy may be the primary cause or contribute to chronic hand dermatitis. In certain individuals, endogenous sources, such as atopic skin, cutaneous allergy (eczematous pattern), or skin hypersensitivity (urticarial pattern), may innately create predisposition to the development of hand dermatitis. Hand dermatitis can become a chronic problem that is often difficult to manage effectively. As consistency with hand protection and avoidance of irritant and allergenic contactants are integral to the effective treatment of chronic hand dermatitis, there is a high dependence on consistent patient adherence. Regardless of the etiological factors causing chronic hand dermatitis, lack of consistent hand protection is often a major reason why therapeutic results are suboptimal in some cases as exposure to the causes of the hand dermatitis are not adequately prevented. Regular wearing of protective gloves is not always feasible depending on the occupation, and although topically applied skin barrier protectants may be helpful in some cases, scientific data are generally limited with many products. This article provides an overview of hand dermatitis, reviews data supporting the therapeutic benefit of a specific barrier protection hand cream, and discusses ingredient modifications to the original formulation. The newer formulation does not alter the skin barrier protection components; however, the new ingredients were selected to add barrier repair properties to the original product, which was designed only as a skin barrier protectant.