Taking care of skin minimises risks of COVID19-experts

Skin care experts have suggested the need to take good care of the skin which goes a long way in minimising the risks of contracting coronavirus disease.

The experts made the suggestion in separate interviews on the sideline of the maiden Skintervention 2020 Conference held at the University of Lagos on Thursday.

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The experts said that a good skin care helps ward off other skin abnormalities including eczema and actinic keratosis.

The theme was: “Discovering The Future of Skin Healthcare Culture in Nigeria.’’

Dr Oyewole Oyerinde advised Nigerians to take the issue of COVID-19 seriously especially as the rate of spreading the infection was high and improper management of cases could result to fatalities.

Oyerinde is of the Department of Public Health in the School of Public and Allied Health, Babcock University, Ilishan-Remo,  Ogun.

He said: “All warnings, education, promotion should be adhered to strictly because education and re-education will curtail the spread of such a disease.

“When we talk of skin diseases, we can also talk of COVID-19.

“Since the skin covers our face or covers all the body, it means that the COVID-19 will first of all have a small touch on the skin.

“By the time we take care of our skin very well, it means that any virus, any form of bacteria, fungi or whatever form of other organism causing diseases will have been dealt with in a minimal way.

“Then, the immune system will do the rest.’’

The don also advised against skin bleaching as bleaching eroded the melanin, which gave pigmentation to the skin and this left the skin exposed, vulnerable to germs and prone to COVID-19.

He also advised that measures be put in place to tackle the disease.

He commended the organisers of the conference, saying “it is just in the nick of time that can help our nation to build up a kind of education, training, a kind of re-orientation for improved skin care habit’’.

Ms Kikelomo Opatola, the Convener of Skintervention Conference and Chief Executive Officer of Woorergold Cloud, told NAN that the importance of taking good care of the skin could not be overemphasised.

According to her, the skin is the largest organ in the body and people are ignorant about the skin and how to care for it, hence the need for improved education on the importance of taking care of the skin.

She observed that the skin care industry in Nigeria faced many challenges

“This Skintervention 2020 Conference is the maiden edition and the mission is to eradicate poor skin care culture in Nigeria.

“Today, we are launching it to educate people and pave way for future collaboration with government, health care practitioners, NGOs and other stakeholders.

“There are a wide array of issues bedeviling the skincare industry and they range from poor skin care culture to poor recommendations from untrained cosmetologists.

“It also includes the limited number of dermatologists (120) serving a population of over 200 million people,’’ she said.

Opatola said that globally, skin diseases ranked as the fourth most common cause of human illness but many people affected did not consult physicians.

She said the Intervention Movement had a special focus on impacting lives to promote a healthy skincare in Nigeria by training and retraining and deploying well-trained specialists to the field with the breakthrough technology.

According to her, the Intelligence Detection Skin Analysis is a breakthrough technology application discovered to have profound impact on skin care, scanning through eight aspects to give an overview of the skin.

Opatola urged people to observe good skin care routine by washing hands, washing the face, using the right soap and moisturiser as well as cream and also sanitising the hands.

Prof. Deji Olanrewaju, Provost/Dean, School of Law and Security Studies, Babcock University, commended the organisers of the conference and said if harnessed properly, it would set the pace for good skin care culture in the country.

In his presentation on “The Booming Economy: Its Hazardous Effects on the Skin’’, Prof. Ademola Amosu, said that the purchasing power of the people increased during the booming economy, saying that industries also discharged so much products into the environment.

Amosu of the Department of Public Health, Babcock University was represented by Oyerinde.

He said that among the industrial products discharged into the environment in Nigeria are the hydro-carbon petrochemicals, in liquid and gaseous forms from the refineries and oil spillages.

Amosu said these also affected the well-being of the ecological, biological and physical environment.

“These are products and activities of a booming economy which in return the skin is exposed to and have impact on health,’’ he said.

Amosu made a case for increased government activities to sensitise and screen citizens up to the community levels.

He also tasked Nigerians on personal hygiene and regular checks especially on skin care.

(NAN)