Abstrait

Skin care practices among adolescent students in a selected school, Bharatpur.

Dipa Sigdel*, Nisha Gurung, Alisha Joshi, Binita Paudel

Background: Skin care is the range of practices that support skin integrity, enhance its appearance and relieve skin conditions. Skin care refers to maintenance of the hygienic state of the skin under optimal conditions of cleanliness and comfort which includes activities like washing, bathing, cleansing, and the use of soaps, detergents, oils, etc. The aim of this study was to find out the skin care practices of adolescents for acne prevention, protection from sunlight and maintenance of hygiene.

Materials and Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out among 120 adolescents studying at a selected school. Non probability enumerative sampling technique was used to select the sample. Data was collected on 2020/12/16 and 2020/12/17 through structured self-administered questionnaire. Collected data was analyzed and interpreted through descriptive statistics.

Results: The findings of this study revealed that 32.5% practiced use of skin care products like face wash and 36.6% cleaned their face more than three times a day. Nearly half of the adolescents (45.1%) used home remedies for acne treatment and only 16.9% consulted dermatologist. More than half of the adolescents (54.9%) had habit of bathing twice a week and changing innerwear daily (41.7%) whereas 50% adolescents use common towel for drying hand after hand washing. Most of respondents (60.9%) do not avoid sun exposure, only 20.8% uses sunscreen, 35% uses umbrella and 25.8% uses hat/scarf sometimes to protect from sunlight.

Conclusion: In conclusion, most of the adolescents use home remedies for acne treatment rather than consulting dermatologist, hygienic habits such as bathing, changing innerwear is practiced more by adolescents and use of sun protective measures is comparatively low. So, awareness program focusing on importance of consulting dermatologist, practicing hygienic habits, use of all sun protective measures is needed to increase good skin care practices among adolescents.