Journal Articles

Back to basics: understanding moisture-associated skin damage

Share this article

Back to basics: understanding moisture-associated skin damage

Trudie Young
1 November 2017

Moisture-associated skin damage (MASD) is the umbrella term for four clinical manifestations, namely incontinence-associated dermatitis (IAD), intertriginous dermatitis (ITD), periwound moisture-associated dermatitis and peristomal moisture-associated dermatitis. Excess moisture and the associated chemical irritants cause MASD. The difference between the four conditions is the type of moisture that induces the skin damage. Urine and faeces cause IAD, ITD is caused by perspiration, peristomal damage is due to effluent from the stoma coming into contact with the skin, and periwound moisture-associated dermatitis is a result of wound exudate being present on the skin surrounding the wound (Gray et al, 2011; Beeckman et al, 2017). 

Are you a healthcare professional? This website is for healthcare professionals only. To continue, please confirm that you are a healthcare professional below.

We use cookies responsibly to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue without changing your browser settings, we’ll assume that you are happy to receive all cookies on this website. Read about how we use cookies.

I am not a healthcare professional.