<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><bold>Introduction:</bold> Prolonged and tightly use of face masks has been identified as cause for skin damage during the COVID-19 pandemic.<bold>Case series presentation:</bold> We evaluated patients seen in the outpatient clinic between March and May 2020, during the lockdown period, focusing on skin damage related to the use of face masks. We aimed to highlight the major impact of routine usage of face masks on the skin of individuals of different ages and professions. Contact dermatitis was prevalent, but we also recorded many cases of outbreak of seborrheic dermatitis, acne, rosacea, perioral dermatitis, atopic dermatitis, folliculitis, as well as neurotic excoriations caused by anxiety, tinea, and impetigo. We also observed a delay in the diagnosis of benign and malignant tumors.<bold>Conclusions:</bold> The most important step should be the assessment of dermatologic pathology related to the use of face masks. They say a picture is worth a thousand words. So take off the face mask, and look at the skin!</abstract>

Introduction: Prolonged and tightly use of face masks has been identified as cause for skin damage during the COVID-19 pandemic.Case series presentation: We evaluated patients seen in the outpatient clinic between March and May 2020, during the lockdown period, focusing on skin damage related to the use of face masks. We aimed to highlight the major impact of routine usage of face masks on the skin of individuals of different ages and professions. Contact dermatitis was prevalent, but we also recorded many cases of outbreak of seborrheic dermatitis, acne, rosacea, perioral dermatitis, atopic dermatitis, folliculitis, as well as neurotic excoriations caused by anxiety, tinea, and impetigo. We also observed a delay in the diagnosis of benign and malignant tumors.Conclusions: The most important step should be the assessment of dermatologic pathology related to the use of face masks. They say a picture is worth a thousand words. So take off the face mask, and look at the skin!

The Ugly Face of Face Masks

“George Emil Palade” University of Medicine, Pharmacy, Science and Technology

Journal of Interdisciplinary Medicine

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

{"article-title":"The Ugly Face of Face Masks"}

Introduction: Prolonged and tightly use of face masks has been identified as cause for skin damage during the COVID-19 pandemic.Case series presentation: We...

The Ugly Face of Face Masks

Pubblicato online: 14 ott 2021

Pagine: 174 - 176

Ricevuto: 06 nov 2020

Accettato: 13 dic 2020

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/jim-2020-0034

Parole chiave
face mask, COVID-19, pandemic, skin damage

© 2021 Anca Chiriac et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

The Ugly Face of Face Masks

Pubblicato online: 14 ott 2021

Pagine: 174 - 176

Ricevuto: 06 nov 2020

Accettato: 13 dic 2020

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/jim-2020-0034

Parole chiaveface mask, COVID-19, pandemic, skin damage

© 2021 Anca Chiriac et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Parole chiave
face mask, COVID-19, pandemic, skin damage