The impact of personal protective equipment on the condition of the skin in the era of COVID-19

Background: Due to the COVID-19 pandemic announced in Poland in 2020, a number of recommendations were introduced, including hand disinfection and the use of personal protective equipment (PPE). The aim of this study was to present the impact of chronic use of PPE on the condition of the skin in the era of COVID-19. Materials and Methods: People aged 15–75, regardless of their health status and education level, living in Poland, were invited to participate in a survey using anonymous online questionnaires. Data analysis was performed in the R statistical environment, ver. 3.6.0, PSPP software, and Microsoft Office 2019. Results: Out of the 513 participants, 24.9% were health-care workers, 53.8% were medical students, and 21.3% were non-medical professionals, with the majority being women (82.3%). In each of these groups, when PPE was used, exacerbation of skin problems occurred more often (n = 300, 60.9%) than the appearance of new ones (n = 250, 49.9%). The group in which skin lesions most often intensified (n = 178, p = 0.013) and new ones appeared (n = 153, p = 0.02) were medical students. New dermatoses occurred more often in people who wore masks, face shields or goggles with a mask (face, n = 110, p = 0.001) as well as gloves and hand disinfection (hands, n = 114, p = 0.001) compared to the respondents who did not. Moreover, due to skin changes, as many as 80 people (15.7%) declared they had stopped using PPE. Conclusion: Our survey indicated that the use of PPE was associated with the appearance of new dermatoses and the exacerbation of existing skin diseases.