Experts sound the alarm: in the face of the fourth coronavirus wave, we forgot what DDM is. We do not keep our distance, we do not wear masks and we forget about disinfection more and more often. It’s a mistake – a simple rule that saved us earlier is needed today like never before!
Weapons as old as the world
When the world found out about the new coronavirus, we were defenseless. We knew little about the COVID-19 disease itself, its early and late complications, and the chances of a quick vaccine discovery seemed unlikely.
Those we could always count on – medical workers deprived of real personal protective equipment – were just as helpless. We knew one thing – DDM, that is Disinfection, Distance, Masks are our “to be or not to be”. Compliance with sanitary and epidemiological rules was to help us reduce the spread of SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus and keep the epidemic under control. And it really was – during the first wave of the pandemic, when other European countries recorded infection records, Poland remained a “green island”.
Today, almost two years later, we are in a different place. Thanks to the work of scientists from around the world, we got a chance to overcome the crisis – a vaccine. And soon drugs for COVID-19 are to be approved on the market. Does that mean we can get back to normal from before March 2020? Experts have no doubt that not yet …
At the moment, almost 20 million Poles have received full vaccination, which unfortunately places us in the tail of EU countries (24th place) [1]. Additionally, the percentage of people who do not want to be vaccinated against COVID-19 remains high. Given that children and adolescents remain unvaccinated, achieving population immunity and avoiding a relapse of the pandemic becomes less and less realistic.
This is confirmed by the increase in infections observed in recent months. Every now and then we hear about new outbreaks of epidemics in educational institutions. Both students and teachers are infected with the infection. School principals from all over Poland agree that keeping the social distance between students is a fiction. It is clearly visible that in the face of the fourth wave, the two remaining components of DDM are the most important, i.e. hand disinfection and wearing masks.
Soapy water is not enough for us
Knowledge about how our approach to everyday hygiene has changed is provided by the report “Hygienic habits of Poles in the era of the coronavirus pandemic”, carried out in May 2021 by NAOS (Bioderma, Institut Esthederm, Etat Pur) specializing in the field of care and skin hygiene. According to the analysis, washing hands with soap and water is no longer enough for us – almost half of Poles admit that they sometimes use a hand sanitizer after washing them.
Moreover, 10 million Poles declare that they carry hand disinfectants (usually a gel in a tube) with them on a daily basis, and every fourth uses disinfectants available in public spaces. This is a big change – especially since only 38 percent. of the respondents used disinfectants before the pandemic – these were occasional situations related to visiting a medical facility or dictated by contact with a sick person.
The new hygiene habits of Poles are also new observations – more than half of us notice that the most common consequence of using disinfectants is dry skin. In addition to dryness, many also experience itching, cracks, swelling, and rashes.
The results of the study show that the pandemic has changed our hygiene habits. Hand sanitizers (biocides) have become one of the necessary measures to contain the pandemic. The use of disinfectants, repeated several times a day, as well as intensive hand washing may damage the skin’s protective barrier. It leads to the removal of lipids in the stratum corneum, which results in dryness, itching, erythema and swelling of the skin. In addition, the damaged epidermis of the hands is much more susceptible to the penetration of pathogenic microorganisms into the body. As the NAOS study showed, the problem of hand skin deterioration affects a large part of the society. At the time of a pandemic threat, we want to act first of all to quickly and effectively kill pathogens. However, we always remember about the long-term effects of our actions. – comments Dr. Malwina Zasada-Kisiel, Scientific & Training Manager NAOS.
Hand hygiene for the times?
Fortunately, disinfectants don’t have to come with the risk of skin lesions – there are ways to protect our skin so that it can protect us.
Biphase Lipo alcoolique by Bioderma combines disinfection with full skin protection. The disinfectant spray protects us in a healthy way against the invasion of bacteria and viruses (not only SARS-CoV-2). In just 30 seconds, it destroys 99,9 percent. bacteria, enveloped viruses and fungi. What’s more, not only does it have no side effects – Biphase Lipo alcoolique compensates for the drying effect of alcohol by providing the skin with the necessary elements to rebuild the hydrolipid film and intercellular cement. As a result, our skin is immediately nourished for a long time and retains more water. Importantly, the product is suitable for all skin types, even the most delicate ones and can be used by children from 3 years of age.
The lipido-alcoholic formula of Biphase Lipo alcoolique allows hand hygiene to be adapted to the new reality. Weapons as old as the world, modernized and patented by Bioderma, became reliable again.