SITE-SPECIFIC CUTANEOUS NEEDS

Many unique body areas require consideration. The face can be considered as a whole; however, the eyelids and the lips represent unique facial areas that demand separate

evaluation. The thicker skin of the hands and feet is different from anywhere on the body with a transitional area occurring between the rigid nails and the surrounding cuticle and soft tissue. The abundant sebaceous glands and terminal hair follicles on the scalp make this a separate skin environment, along with skin that expands and contracts with movement in intertrigenous areas such as the neck and the underarms. The female and male genitalia are also unique with numerous glandular and follicular structures that present a hygiene challenge. Everything else that is covered by skin can be simply labeled as the body. Let us begin by examining each of these skin environment areas separately.

Updated: June 13, 2015 — 10:38 am