What is Incontinence-Associated Dermatitis (IAD)?
Incontinence-Associated Dermatitis, also known as IAD, is inflammation or damage that can occur to the skin in and around the genital area as the result of contact with urine or stool.
1 Skin damage from IAD happens from the surface and works inward and is also a major risk factor for the development of pressure ulcers.2
What causes IAD?
There are several risk factors for IAD including:
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- Fecal incontinence
- Frequency of incontinence
- Poor skin condition
- Pain
- Poor skin oxygenation
- Fever
- Compromised or limited mobility
- Double (urinary and fecal) incontinence
- Tissue tolerance impairments
- Moisture
- Alkaline pH
How can I prevent and treat IAD?
Professional guidelines recommend using a barrier product to help protect skin from injury due to incontinence.3 However, the multiple steps associated with traditional methods of incontinence care often means barrier application is overlooked.4
Comfort Shield is designed to help prevent painful redness, irritation, and skin breakdown due to incontinence moisture by applying our signature 3% dimethicone cream barrier. Comfort Shield also treats and protects irritated skin. There's no need for other wipes, creams, lotions, or protectants, Comfort Shield does it all without leaving behind a filmy residue or hard to remove caked-on cream. Each thick, ultra-soft cloth is soaked in rinse-free cleansers, moisturizers, and, Exopheryl. Exopheryl is an exclusive ingredient that helps to eliminate odors, leaving you with a breathable barrier that seals out incontinence moisture for the ultimate in prevention.
Comfort Shield's clear, protective barrier treats skin and helps seal out wetness, relieving the skin irritation that often accompanies incontinence. Our powerful, long-lasting dimethicone barrier is in each cloth, so you can be confident it goes on every time. It's proven hypoallergenic, gentle and non-irritating. Comfort Shield has also been proven to help treat IAD.
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Don't Catch the Basin Bug
If you've spent the night in the hospital, you've probably received an unassuming pale pink, yellow, or blue bath basin. What you may not know about these basins is that they can easily become contaminated with bacteria and can lead to infection.
Prepackaged bathing helps eliminate the basin and its associated contamination risks. In fact, 95% of hospital nurses surveyed agreed that prepackaged bathing is a cleaner and potentially safer method than basin bathing
6. A separate survey found that 86% of infection control professionals recognize that the bath basin is a potential safety risk6. One published medical study took samples from 1,103 basins in 88 hospitals and found that 100% of the participating hospitals had basins that tested positive for bacteria.7 Here are some of the bacteria they found:
- Staphylococcus, the bacteria associated with Staph infections
- VRE, a bacteria resistant to several antibiotics
- MRSA, also known as the "superbug"8
Contact with these bacteria can lead to serious infections. Comfort and Essential Bath
? washcloths eliminate the contamination risk by eliminating the need for basins. Each package provides high quality, pre-moistened cloths. Now you can bathe in the comfort of your own home.
Reference: 1. Gray M, et al., J Wound Ostomy Continence Nurs. 2007 Jan-Feb; 34(1):45-54. 2. Maklebust J, Magnan MA, Adv Wound Care. Nov 1994; 7(6):25,27-8, 31-4 passim. 3. Getting started kit: prevent pressure ulcers, how-to guide. Protecting 5 Million Lives from Harm Campaign, Institute for Healthcare Improvement, 2006 Dec. 4. Nix D. Ermer-Seltun, J Ost/Wound Mgmt Dec 2004;50(11):32-41. 5. Sluser S, Consistency the key for treating severe perineal dermatitis due to incontinence. Poster presented at Clinical Symposium on Advances in Skin and Wound Care (ASWC), Las Vegas, NV, 2005 Oct. 6. Results from survey conducted at APIC 2010. Data on file. 7. Marchaim D, et al., Hospital bath basins are frequently contaminated with multi-drug resistant human pathogens. Poster presented at SHEA 21st Annual Scientific Meeting, April 2011. 8. Johnson D, Lineweaver, Maze L, Patients' bath basins as potential sources of infection: a multicenter sampling study, AJCC, Vol 18, No 1, Jan 2009.
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