A commonly encountered skin disorder in outpatient dermatology practice is hand
dermatitis. In a considerable subset of patients, hand
dermatitis can be a major source of prolonged distress when a pattern of chronicity develops due to repeated exposure to a variety of potential etiological factors. Most of the etiological factors are exogenous in nature. Hand
dermatitis is an equal opportunity disease that affects both genders and occurs in individuals from all ethnic and cultural backgrounds. It is important to note that the term hand
dermatitis does not refer to one specific diagnostic entity. Rather, hand
dermatitis refers to multiple patterns of clinical disease that can be induced by a variety of exogenous sources. Occupational exposures with inadequate hand protection may be an important cause of epidermal barrier disruption, and in some cases contact
allergy may be the primary cause or contribute to chronic hand
dermatitis. In certain individuals, endogenous sources, such as atopic skin, cutaneous
allergy (eczematous pattern), or skin
hypersensitivity (urticarial pattern), may innately create predisposition to the development of hand
dermatitis. Hand
dermatitis can become a chronic problem that is often difficult to manage effectively. As consistency with hand protection and avoidance of
irritant and allergenic contactants are integral to the effective treatment of chronic hand
dermatitis, there is a high dependence on consistent patient adherence. Regardless of the etiological factors causing chronic hand
dermatitis, lack of consistent hand protection is often a major reason why therapeutic results are suboptimal in some cases as exposure to the causes of the hand
dermatitis are not adequately prevented. Regular wearing of
protective gloves is not always feasible depending on the occupation, and although topically applied skin barrier protectants may be helpful in some cases, scientific data are generally limited with many products. This article provides an overview of hand
dermatitis, reviews data supporting the therapeutic benefit of a specific barrier protection hand cream, and discusses ingredient modifications to the original formulation. The newer formulation does not alter the skin barrier protection components; however, the new ingredients were selected to add barrier repair properties to the original product, which was designed only as a skin barrier protectant.