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HEALTHCARE PROFESSIONALSEczema Care - Dermasilk®
CLINICAL TRIALS CONFIRM THAT DERMASILK® THERAPEUTIC CLOTHING CAN IMPROVE THE EFFECTIVENESS OF YOUR ECZEMA TREATMENTS
Scientists involved in treating skin conditions such as eczema have turned their attention to the type of clothing worn by patients and come up with an innovative fabric which has been shown in clinical trials to offer significant advantages over commonly used cotton underclothes.
The development of this fabric, which is impregnated with an antimicrobial shield, has resulted in the design of a range of underwear for use as part of the eczema treatment programme and helps control the terrible 'itch-scratch' cycle. This new innovative range is called DermaSilk® Therapeutic Clothing and is now available in the UK and Ireland from Espère Healthcare Ltd.
No one treatment can clear eczema. It usually requires combined action. The worst and most difficult element to control is the itching and scratching which leads to weeping and bleeding skin. Until now there have been few dressing options that can alleviate this condition.
DERMASILK® THERAPEUTIC CLOTHING - A BREAKTHROUGH IN ECZEMA TREATMENT
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DermaSilk® Therapeutic Clothing offers a clinically proven collection of children's and adult underclothes which can bring fast relief to the itching and scratching and can help promote the active healing of the affected areas.
The range includes vests, pants, baby suits, gloves and leggings.
The concept for this highly specialised collection of underwear was developed by Espère Healthcare's partners in Italy who have combined the known traditional healing properties of silk with today's state-of-the-art anti-microbial technology.
DermaSilk® Therapeutic Clothing is made from pure, medical grade silk which has been impregnated with the Aegis Microbe Shield™, a broad spectrum antimicrobial which is permanently bonded to the fabric. This range is registered as a Medical Device in the EU and is supported by published clinical trial data in dermatological journals.
The introduction of the DermaSilk® Therapeutic Clothing range has many benefits not only its ability to control the symptoms associated with eczema, but also its design and construction makes the clothing appear normal, thus reducing the self-conscious element eczema sufferers often feel in front of their friends and family.
CONTROLS BODY TEMPERATURES
Excessive moisture loss is a common feature of all eczema patients. Unlike cotton garments, DermaSilk® absorbs excessive moisture without feeling damp and therefore allows better control of body temperature, staying cool when it is warm and warm when it is cool. This is important in maintaining the moisture balance of the skin.
Even the smoothest cotton garments can irritate the skin on a microscopic level as all cotton thread is made up of individual fibres of cotton each no more that 5cm long. DermaSilk®, by contrast is made of silk fibres up to 800 metres long and the knitted construction ensures smooth and friction free contact with the skin.
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Importantly for mothers these are easy-care garments which when washed by hand with a non-biological detergent retain their antimicrobial efficacy for more than 50 washes.
DermaSilk® - the nearest thing to a second skin.
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The information contained on this page has been provided by Espère Healthcare Ltd
Page updated: 9 June 2008
MORE INFORMATION
For more information about DermaSilk®, please contact:
Espère Healthcare Ltd
Suite G8
Bedford i-lab
Priory Business Park
Bedford
MK44 3RZ
Tel: 08700 424232
Email: info@dermasilk.co.uk
www.dermasilk.co.uk
CLINICAL TRIALS
DermaSilk® has been the subject of a number of clinical trials, undertaken by clinicians throughout Europe and published in medical journals.
A key study by Ricci et al was published in the British Journal of Dermatology.
The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of DermaSilk® in the treatment of young children affected by atopic dermatitis with a disease flare at the time of examination.
Forty six children, aged between 4 months and 10 years old with atopic dermatitis were recruited and randomised with 31 wearing DermaSilk® and 15 wearing cotton clothing continuously for a week. The only other agents prescribed were topical moisturisers. No steroid creams or topical antibiotics were prescribed.
Severity of the condition was measured by the SCORAD index, a scientific way of measuring a mixture of physical and social effects that atopic dermatitis has on patients. The doctors measuring these scores were not aware which garments the patients were using.
At the end of the study the SCORAD index of the DermaSilk® group had significantly decreased from 47 to 30 (p=0.003) whilst the cotton wearing group had only moved from 47 to 46.
83% of the children using DermaSilk® showed an improvement in their overall condition, whereas none of the children wearing cotton showed any improvement.
"children wearing woven silk showed a statistically significant improvement of their symptoms ... while those dressed in cotton showed no significant improvement."
Measurement of the DermaSilk® covered areas alone showed a significant decrease from 32 to 18.6.
Areas of eczema which were present on the DermaSilk® clothed children but which had not been covered by DermaSilk® were also examined as a control. They did not show any significant improvement over the week suggesting that it was indeed the covering of the eczema lesions with DermaSilk® that was having the beneficial effect.
The authors concluded that DermaSilk® appeared to significantly improve the condition of eczema lesions and that the parents of these children also reported a dramatic reduction in itching and scratching.
DermaSilk® appears to have a rapid effect on the symptoms of atopic dermatitis, with 80% of the children showing a positive effect in only 7 days thus suggesting that it may represent a very useful tool in the management of the disease.
Reference: Ricci. G et al. Clinical effectiveness of a silk fabric in the treatment of atopic dermatitis. British Journal of Dermatology 2004: 150: 127 - 131