How to prevent the skin breaking down:
Here are a few ways that you can prevent infections or irritations from occurring:
- Avoid the skin getting too wet by changing your incontinence product as soon as an incident occurs.
- Minimise direct contact to the skin by using barrier ointments or diaper rash creams.
- Avoid friction by gently cleaning and cleansing the skin.
- Maintain a healthy diet by eating well and staying hydrated by having good quality natural spring drinking water and adding a pinch of sea salt creating a hydrolyte effect hydrating the body.
It’s important to keep the skin dry and clean to avoid it breaking down the skins barriers. Special care must be taken to avoid this from happening and it’s vital to follow a proper skin care routine.
- Find the right cleanser that won’t irritate or cause dryness to the skin. Look for a soap-free cleanser that doesn’t contain any alcohol or fragrances that can cause irritations to the skin. Some people have allergies to the perfumes contained in them. Harsh scrubbing and soaps are to be avoided as they can damage the skin. Follow the instructions on the cleansers, as some do not require rinsing afterwards. Gentle but effective cleansers are essential in controlling odour, maintaining the skin’s integrity and providing comfort. It’s important to cleanse the skin gently after every incontinent episode. The cleanser should easily loosen and lift away urine and soil to reduce friction. A pH balanced no rinse cleanser would be the most effective. The area should be cleaned from front to back. It’s important that you gently pat the skin dry or allow the area to air dry before the skin comes into contact with clothes or pads, as even a soft towel can cause friction related skin injury.
- Moisturising creams help to keep the skin moist. With many different products on the market it’s important to find a product that is conditioned to protect the perineal skin. Many options are available including barrier ointments, creams, pastes and skin sealant along with barrier sprays. A protective barrier is formed on the skin when using creams or ointments that contain zinc oxide, lanoline or petroleum. Your doctor or health care professional can recommend a barrier cream to help protect the skin. Protect your skin from continued exposure to irritating fluids, moisture, friction, dryness and bacteria, as there are damaging effects from excess moisture, urine and faeces. While skin creams are effective at conditioning the skin they provide little protection against moisture soaking into the skin. Specifically designed barrier ointments, creams and sprays form a protective coating and layer on the skin that minimises the contact to the skin after perspiration, urine or faeces. Protection barrier pastes or ointments provide a friction reducing barrier between the skins layers and diapers, pads or bed linens. The advantage of using a barrier spray is that the application isn’t being rubbed onto fragile skin. Where possible find a barrier product that contains moisturising properties that condition and soothe the skin.
- Every two hours undergarments, pads or briefs should be checked to see if they are wet or soiled and need to be changed immediately. At each change apply an even layer of moisture barrier cream, ointment or paste. If you find that the skin is becoming swollen, irritated or rashy you may need an antifungal treatment or rash cream. A yeast infection is also a common problem with people who suffer from incontinence. The skin may feel raw with a red itchy, pimple like rash and should be treated. There are many over the counter and prescription products used to treat yeast infections. A powder antifungal medication can be used if the skin is moist most of the time and a moisture barrier or skin sealant may be applied over the top of the powder. Incontinence can cause damage against the skin’s layers and the best prevention and most important aspect is keeping the skin dry. Holistic’s products contain a soft layered top sheet and an absorbent core which quickly traps the moisture and expels the fluids away from the skin designed to be the best disposable products to keep the skin dry. Check out the Allusive range of super absorbent pull ups, slip brief, flexi pads and underpads that are specifically designed to keep the skin drier for longer. Our range was created with you in mind to stop skin irritations or infections from forming.