Avoiding Touching Until 60 Minutes--Contamination of Transdermal Estradiol Gel After Physical Contact

Jingnan Liao^*Yi CaoJing WeiLe Zhang

• Changsha Hospital for Maternal and Child Health Care, Changsha, China

This study aims to explore the relationship between the timing of physical contact and the level of estradiol contamination on the skin after the application of estradiol gel. The study was conducted in the gynecology department of Changsha Hospital for Maternal & Child Health Care Affiliated to Hunan Normal University between 2021 and 2022. Participants included 40 menopausal women aged 40-60 who required MHT and 40 women who did not use estradiol. The intervention involved physical contact after the administration of estradiol gel, and the main outcome measure was the estradiol concentration on the skin. Skin estradiol levels were assessed at 10, 30, 60, and 120 minutes post-application.The results indicated that the estradiol levels in the skin of the estradiol gel group were 205. 29±79.33, 193.64±61.17, 99.15±37.34, and 110.83±69.81 at 10, 30, 60, and 120 minutes, respectively. In contrast, the estradiol content in the skin of the physical contact group was significantly lower, with levels of 65.87±32.75, 59.06 ± 24.99, 7.95 ± 4.89, and 12.09 ± 3.71 at the same time points. Estradiol contamination was detected in all participants of the physical contact group, but the levels were markedly lower than those in the estradiol gel group. In the estradiol gel group, estradiol levels remained stable within the first 30 minutes (p>0.05), showed a rapid decrease at 60 minutes (p<0.001), and remained stable from 60 to 120 minutes (p>0.05). The variation trend of skin estrogen concentration over time in the physical contact group was consistent with that in the estradiol gel group.The study concludes that physical contact following the application of estradiol gel can lead to skin contamination. Therefore, it is recommended that patients avoid skin exposure for at least 60 minutes after applying estradiol gel and refrain from physical contact with others, especially infants, children, individuals with breast cancer or other sex hormone-dependent tumors, and pets, to minimize the risk of estradiol transfer.