Abstract
Background Antibacterial clothes are classified as a complementary treatment in line with antisepsis, although meta-studies are unable to find significant improvements of eczemas. Methods The antibacterial effectiveness of conventional AD clothes was compared across each other by (i) standard suspension tests for the appraisal of antibacterial products and (ii) a real-life setup of affected AD skin using S. aureus colonised artificial skin, to assess if functional clothes are effective under practical wear conditions. Additionally, the interaction of the fibre types with a moisturising cream was evaluated during a real wearing situation and after domestic laundry. Results In the real-life setup simulating dry skin microenvironment, all samples failed to reduce S. aureus. Silver and zinc-fabrics showed a slight activity only under unrealistic moist conditions. When using standard suspension tests, samples differed considerably in their antibacterial effectiveness, where silver and zinc endowed fibres outperformed AEGIS endowed silk fabrics. Garments absorbed the cream dependent on the particular fibre types. Furthermore, domestic laundry was unable to completely remove the cream. Conclusion Considerable differences in the antibacterial effectiveness of conventional AD clothes were revealed. Under practical (dry) wear conditions, garments were unable to modify skin colonization with S. aureus, although effectiveness can be triggered by wetting the garments. Remnants of moisturising cream remain on the fibres after laundry.
Highlights
Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a chronic, recurrent inflammatory skin disease with a significant social and economic burden
The antibacterial effectiveness of conventional AD clothes was compared across each other by (i) standard suspension tests for the appraisal of antibacterial products and (ii) a real-life setup of affected AD skin using S. aureus colonised artificial skin, to assess if functional clothes are effective under practical wear conditions
The wearing of wetted AD clothes is unrealistic in real life for AD patients, we explored in this setup the onset of the antibacterial action towards the S. aureus colonised skin
Summary
Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a chronic, recurrent inflammatory skin disease with a significant social and economic burden. It has an estimated prevalence of up to 20 % in children and 2 % in adults [1, 2] and a considerable impact on the patient’s quality of life, depending on the severity of the disease. When using standard suspension tests, samples differed considerably in their antibacterial effectiveness, where silver and zinc endowed fibres outperformed AEGIS endowed silk fabrics. Under practical (dry) wear conditions, garments were unable to modify skin colonization with S. aureus, effectiveness can be triggered by wetting the garments. Remnants of moisturising cream remain on the fibres after laundry
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