Method of preparation of a band aid for determining an abnormal skin dryness

The present invention relates to a method for determining abnormal skin dryness and in particular for diagnosing diabetic foot syndrome.

In the context of the treatment of diabetes, the early detection of secondary diseases such as the diagnosis of “diabetic foot syndrome (DFS) and polyneuropathy diagnosis (PNP) are important. In the Federal Republic of Germany alone there are around 5 million diabetics, all of whom are threatened by the diabetic foot, which is the most common secondary disease of the metabolic disorder. Disturbances of certain nerve functions in combination with circulatory disturbances lead to changes in the skin, and these in turn lead to deep tissue defects that are practically unaffected, with subsequent infections. Often they have to

AT 006 435 Ul affected limbs are amputated. In Germany alone, the number of amputations on the lower extremities caused by diabetic foot syndrome is around 28,000 to 30,000 annually. Despite the most varied of efforts, this number has not been reduced in recent years; on the contrary, the amputation rate is growing by around 2% annually. Only a practicable early detection method with an equally practicable skin care instruction based on it can provide a remedy. The first diagnostically accessible early symptom of the diabetic foot that is relatively easy to influence therapeutically is abnormal dryness of the skin, which makes the skin of the foot inelastic and thus mechanically vulnerable. The smallest minor injuries and the inevitable colonization with ubiquitous pathogens are the beginning of the diabetic foot syndrome. Accordingly, various devices have been developed for the early diagnosis of the diabetic foot in order to record the dryness of the skin. From DE 198 33 440

Al, for example, a device is known which detects the dryness of the skin via the electrical resistance or the electrical conductance. These devices are associated with a corresponding outlay in terms of equipment.

The object of the invention is therefore to provide a method with which it can be determined in a simple manner whether the moisture content of a skin area, in particular the soles of the feet, is (still) in the normal range or not.

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This object is achieved according to the invention by a method in which a particularly textile reaction carrier is impregnated with a 3.15 to 25 percent cobalt (II) chloride solution and then dried until the cobalt (II) chloride turns blue, the reaction carrier on ^ in ^ r ^ side of a flat from a flexible material base body is attached, the reaction carrier is covered with an air- and moisture-impermeable protective material, the protective material is removed immediately before the determination of the skin dryness and the reaction carrier is placed and attached to an area of ​​skin and removed from the skin again after a predetermined period of time, a discoloration of the reaction carrier to the color red indicating normal skin dryness.

The invention is thus based on the idea of ​​determining the liquid content of the sweat on a skin area, for example the sole of the foot, semiquantitatively in a reproducible, standardized and easy to use test that is not prone to errors by applying a reaction carrier to the respective skin area

AT 006 435 Ul is brought, which has an indicator with cobalt (II) chloride, which has a blue color in the dry state, which changes to a red color at a certain moisture content, which corresponds to normal skin moisture. On the basis of the color that the reaction exhibits after it has been in contact with the skin for a few minutes, it can thus be ascertained whether the skin is abnormally dry or not.

This method for the indication of abnormal skin dryness can be carried out by means of a corresponding indicator plaster which has a flat base body made of a flexible material which is provided with an adhesive material on one side and which holds the reaction carrier on this side. This indicator plaster is surrounded by an air- and moisture-impermeable protective layer or protective cover, which is only removed shortly before use in order to prevent the cobalt (II) chloride from reacting prematurely.

With regard to further advantageous embodiments of the invention, reference is made to the subclaims and the following description of an exemplary embodiment with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the drawing shows:

Fig. 1 shows an indicator plaster according to the present invention in plan view and

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FIG. 2 shows the indicator plaster from FIG. 1 in a schematic side view.

The drawing shows an indicator plaster according to the present invention. The indicator plaster has a flat base body 1 made of a flexible material, here a transparent adhesive film provided on one side with an adhesive layer. Other conventional paving materials can also be used. A textile reaction carrier 2, for example made of cellulose or fleece, which is impregnated with a 6.25% cobalt (II) chloride solution, is attached to the side of the adhesive film 1 facing the skin facing the adhesive layer. During production, the cobalt (II) chloride solution is applied to the reaction carrier 2 and dried until it turns blue, for example by heating to about 40 ° C., before the reaction carrier 2 is glued to the plaster strip 1. In the drawing it can be clearly seen that the reaction carrier 2 is smaller than the adhesive film 1 and is attached approximately in the middle of this, so that an adhesive edge is formed around the reaction carrier 2, as is known from conventional plasters.

What is not shown is that the plaster is surrounded by a protective cover made of a moisture-impermeable material, which prevents the cobalt (II) chloride from coming into contact with moisture.

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For the early detection of abnormal skin dryness, the plaster is removed from the protective cover and stuck to an area of ​​the skin to be tested. If the skin has normal moisture, the blue color of the cobalt (II) chloride changes to a red color when it comes into contact with the sweat of the skin. If there is insufficient skin moisture - in other words, abnormal skin dryness - the blue discoloration remains. In this way it can be reliably and semi-quantitatively determined with simple means whether the skin is abnormally dry or not. Tests have shown that in healthy skin a color change from blue to white and pink to red takes place within four minutes, while a pathological skin secretion is definitely present if such a color change has not yet taken place for 20 minutes.

The method according to the invention is suitable for diagnostics in all areas in which a pathologically reduced sweat secretion plays a role. In particular, it can be used in the neurological area instead of the minor and ninhydrin tests to detect pathological sweat secretion.