Abstract : The medical staff remains liable to COVID-19. Healthcare institutions must give offer to the supply of personal protective equipment (PPE) to them, with the prolonged contact with this equipment that may cause a variety of skin diseases. The study is shed light on the cutaneous abnormal reactions to the PPE among the medical staff and offers solutions. This cross-sectional study conducted for the medical staff that involved doctors, dentists, pharmacists, and nurses in the high-risk Ramadi General Teaching Hospital and low-risk Private Clinics, Anbar governorate, Iraq. between 4 July till 10 August 2020. A quantitative descriptive research included age, gender, the duration and type of used masks, gloves, Goggles/face shield, and/or gown. About 23 questions described the adverse skin reactions chiefly that involve the skin. A total of 196 participants were recruited for the online questionnaire, including (49.5%) doctor, (15.3%) dentist, (16.8%) pharmacist, and (18.4%) nurse, with a significant involvement between 20-29 years old age. The use of the mask and glove were associated significantly with an adverse skin reaction, like a wound, dry lips, Acne and/or folliculitis, hand dryness, erythema, itching, wrinkle, nail fracture. While workers who regularly used gowns had a negative correlation with adverse skin reactions including erythema with pruritus of trunk and shoulders, miliaria, and pityriasis versicolor. In conclusions, the medical staff uses PPE that may develop mild dermatological adverse effects. It needs early diagnosis and treatment. There is dermatological advice that may be helpful to avoid these unwanted effects.
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