Hand hygiene practice and hand eczema among healthcare workers during COVID-19 pandemic in a tertiary hospital in Southern Nigeria

Background: Hand eczema is common among those occupationally exposed to intense wet work and chemical irritants such as healthcare workers. The risk may be increased during this coronavirus disease (COVID)-19 period because regular hand hygiene is one of the recommended strategies for curbing the spread of coronavirus. However, overzealous hand washing among healthcare workers may lead to hand eczema and some attendant consequences such as reduced quality of life. Aim: To determine the prevalence of hand eczema amongst healthcare workers and associated factors among healthcare workers in a tertiary hospital in Southern Nigerian. Methods: This was a cross-sectional descriptive study that was done amongst healthcare workers in Nigerian tertiary hospital. Patients were examined for hand eczema after obtaining information on their hygiene practices and symptoms of hand eczema. P value of 0.05 was considered significant. Results: Three hundred and seventeen healthcare workers comprising of 140(44.2%) females and 177(55.8%) males with a mean age of 34.13± 6.82 years participated in the study. There was significant increase in the frequency of hand washing in the COVID-19 era (p =<0.001). The prevalence of hand eczema amongst healthcare workers was 64.7%. The common skin lesions observed were lichenification [187(59%)], xerosis [182(57.4%)] and scales [70(22.1%)]. There was no significant association between hand eczema and age, profession and gender of the health worker (p = >0.05). Conclusion: Hand eczema was highly prevalent among healthcare workers during this COVID-19 era. There is need to regularly educate the general public on proper and rational hand hygiene.