Content area
Full Text
Abstract
Skin conditions are common in all age ranges, and can significantly affect an individual's quality of life. Nurses prescribing or applying topical treatments should have a comprehensive understanding of skin barrier function and the effects this has on the absorption of medication through the skin. This article focuses on the therapeutic options available to treat skin conditions with particular emphasis on topical treatments, including emollients and topical corticosteroids. The principles of skin barrier function and the way in which therapies applied to the skin work are also discussed.
Keywords
Emollients, skin barrier, skin conditions, topical corticosteroids, topical treatments
Review
All articles are subject to external double-blind peer review and checked for plagiarism using automated software.
Online
Guidelines on writing for publication are available at www.nursing-standard.co.uk. For related articles visit the archive and search using the keywords above.
Aims and intended learning outcomes
This article aims to increase readers' knowledge of the different types of topical treatments that can be applied to the skin. After reading this article and completing the time out activities you should be able to:
* Describe the function of the skin barrier.
* Explain how topical medication is administered to the skin.
* Identify the characteristics of emollients and the factors to consider in choosing an appropriate emollient.
* Discuss how to monitor the therapeutic response to topical treatments applied to the skin.
* Educate patients about different aspects of applying topical treatments to the skin.
Introduction
Surveys suggest that around 54% of the UK population experience a skin condition in a given 12-month period and, at any one time, 23-33% of patients with a skin problem could benefit from medical care (Schofield et al 2009). Most individuals experiencing a skin condition (69%) self care, buying treatments over the counter (OTC) and applying these at home without medical or nursing supervision (Schofield et al 2009). OTC sales are rising annually and comprised £413.9 million or 18% of OTC sales in the UK in 2007. A further 14% of individuals seek advice, usually from medical or nursing teams in the community (Schofield et al 2009). With the development of non-medical prescribing, studies have highlighted that many patients with a skin condition are seen by nurses in a variety of settings...