Elderly skincare: Researchers suggest pH-compatible cleansing cloths for pressure ulcers

10 Oct 2022 --- The preservation of skin pH within an appropriate range is essential to maintain the epidermal barrier and homeostasis function of aging skin, according to Turkey-based researchers. They suggest maintaining skin pH via a body pH-compatible cleansing cloth, which can positively affect the development time of pressure ulcers and change the skin pH to acidic.

The skin has an acidic pH ranging from 4.1 to 5.8. The acidic environment acts as a barrier against the “toxicity of bacterial end products such as ammonia and abnormal collagen destruction in the wound bed, increasing angiogenesis, control of enzyme activity and macrophage and fibroblast activity,” explain the researchers.

Moreover, the authors believe that skincare plays a vital role in preventing pressure ulcers. However, they found that there are barely any studies investigating the effect of skincare products on aging skin and the impact that skin pH-regulating care products have on skin functions.

There are only publications centered on the effects of using skin pH-regulating products on skin function and skin barrier related to cosmetology or other disorders. As a result, the researchers examined the development of pressure ulcers between a control group and an intervention group.Skin pH maintenance is recommended via a body pH-compatible cleansing cloth.

Applying the pH-compatible cleansing cloth
In the study, approximately 70% of the 156 patients were 75 years or older. The intervention group maintained skincare with a body pH-compatible cleansing cloth. The patients were hospitalized in intensive care clinics.

“Although the development time of pressure ulcers was not significant, it was determined in the study that pressure ulcers developed later in the intervention group than in the control group (an average of 18.9 days in the intervention group versus 14.9 days in the control group),” outline the researchers.

Additionally, more pressure ulcers developed in patients in the control group compared to the intervention group. Therefore, the authors state that a body pH-compatible cleansing cloth delays the development of pressure ulcers.

The study also found changes in the skin pH – a decrease in the intervention group after the skincare routine was applied and an increased pH in the control group.

“Data were collected using the Elderly Information Form, Braden Risk Assessment Scale, Pressure Ulcer Staging Tool and Skin pH Measurement Form,” detail the authors.The frequency of pressure ulcers ranges between 24.6% and 50% in the elderly.

What aging does to the skin
A high frequency of pressure ulcers in the elderly is reported to be caused by changes to the skin during aging.

“According to the National Pressure Ulcer Advisory Panel, a pressure ulcer is a medical or device-related localized tissue injury that usually occurs as bony spurs on the skin and underlying soft tissue,” say the authors.

Furthermore, the frequency of pressure ulcers ranges between 24.6% and 50% in the elderly. This level results in an increased cost of care for the elderly.

In cosmetology and dermatology publications, the subcutaneous adipose tissue (tissue beneath the skin) has been found to decrease in old age, causing thinner and more fragile skin. Additionally, damage to the stratum corneum (outer skin layer) cannot fulfill its function as a barrier, flag the researchers.

Edited by Venya Patel

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