Do your workforce know how to look after their hands properly and are you providing the best hand products for them?
Imagining life without being able to use your hands is hard; they are intrinsic to everything you do. One MP from South Thanet recently described living without his hands after losing them to sepsis: "You don't realise how much you do with your hands... use your phone, hold the hand of your child, touch your wife, do the garden."
Occupational dermatitis won’t cause the loss of your hands, but it can make them too painful to use, and can be an extremely long-term, debilitating condition; one that costs British employers millions every year. Nationally, across all industries, an estimated 84,000 people have dermatitis caused or made worse by their work.
Hand care is more than just a glove strategy.
Gloves are an obvious protective measure to ensure hands are safe and clean. However, in some situations, gloves may not be possible or appropriate.
Educating your workforce in how to look after their hands is part of your responsibility towards their safety as their employer, as is providing the products to enable good hand care. Don’t just assume that your employees know, (or even care!) about how to look after their hands safely; they may not be aware of the long-term implications.
1. Choose the right products:
Choose naturally based, but effective products which are less likely to upset the natural balance of your skin. Remember that products may need to be used at any time and that availability may mean that sometimes it is necessary to hand wash without water.
2. Protect:
Use a good quality barrier cream for industrial use to enhance the natural barrier provided by the oils in the skin and to prevent dirt becoming ingrained in the first place. Find out more about industrial hand lotions and barrier creams in our Expert Insight.
3. Clean:
Thorough and regular cleaning, both during and after work, could prevent occupational dermatitis, infection and serious disease. Cleaning hands at regular intervals not only prevents cross contamination of dirt, but also reduces the amount of time that contaminants have to be absorbed by the skin and grime to become embedded, causing exacerbation of dermatitis, irritation and cracking and potential skin disease. Find out more about how to clean your hands of ingrained dirt in our Expert Insight.
4. Moisturise and protect again:
a. During work, always re-protect hands with an industrial barrier cream for hands after every time they are cleaned.
b. After work, use a natural industrial hand lotion to moisturise, replacing lost oils and supporting your skin’s natural barrier.
Remember: Dermatitis is more easily prevented than cured and the costs of prevention are much less than those of a cure.
If you have any questions about the most effective way to protect working hands call our protection specialists now, on 0800 328 5028.