GB2190289A

GB2190289A - Applicators for applying medicated liquids to the skin

Info

Publication number: GB2190289A
Application number: GB08711393A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Michael John Kingston
Original assignee: Cuxson Gerrard & Co Ltd
Current assignee: Cuxson Gerrard & Co Ltd
Priority date: 1986-05-14
Filing date: 1987-05-14
Publication date: 1987-11-18
Anticipated expiration: 2007-05-14
Also published as: GB2190289B; GB8711393D0; GB8611746D0

Abstract

An applicator for applying a liquid mixture to treat skin complaints such as athlete's Foot comprises an absorbent sheet of tissue material impregnated with a liquid mixture comprising a carrier liquid and an active ingredient. The applicator holds a controlled amount of liquid mixture and deposits an approximately controlled amount of liquid material on the skin where the carrier liquid evaporated to leave behind a controlled dose of active ingredient. A fungicide is the active ingredient for treating athlete's foot.

Description

SPECIFICATION Applicators for applying medicated liquids to the skin There are many skin complaints which although not dangerous are uncomfortable or embarrassing for the sufferer. The treatment of skin complaints presently often involves applying creams, lotions or powders to the skin and certain difficulties are found associated with this. The sort of problems envisaged are exemplified by consideration of the skin complaint Athlete's Foot.

"Athlete's Foot" is a common disease. It is an infection of the skin between the toes, especially between the third, fourth and fifth, by fungi, chiefly Trichopyton Spp. It affects men and women of all ages and thrives in warm damp conditions. As a result it is especially common among sports men and women whose feet sweat heavily inside closed shoes and who change and bathe communally. It results in a soggy red skin which itches and burns and flakes away. It is often associated with a very unpleasant smell. The disease is not dangerous but is always uncomfortable, unsightly and unpleasant.

The treatment of Athlete's Foot consists of keeping the infected skin clean and dry and of applying a fungicide. Common treatments available at present consist of fungicides presented as ointments, watery gels, powders, tinctures etc. None of these presentations cater for cleaning the infected skin which is an essential part of treatment. Ointments, gels and tinctures have to be applied with a finger or special applicator which not only is messy and difficult but also risks cross-infection.

Such an application often calls for hand washing afterwards, or at least wiping the hands with a disposable tissue, which may not be possible. Ointments also tend to trap moisture beneath them because they are water impermeable and therefore may increase the maceration of the skin and encourage the infection, and may also require a dressing to be permanently held over the treated area. Powders are more attractive but their application is very hit and miss which results in powder sprinkled on seats and floor. More importantly powder will clog the pores in the skin and increase the dead matter on which the fungus lives provided it resists the fungicide. Lastly all these methods of treatment leave the dose of fungicide to the person applying them who may use too much or too little. Put in another way, there is no measured dose.

It will be apparent that similar problems exist in connection with various other skin complaints, including acne.

Tissues soaked with a volatile liquid which evaporates when applied to the skin to refresh the user are known and are useful during long journeys, for example airlines sometimes give them to their passengers. These wipes contain only the volatile liquid, and usually a perfume; they do not have a pharmaceutically active ingredient.

Swabs comprising an absorbent porous pad adjacent a breakable reservoir are also known, the reservoir containing liquid to be applied.

Immediately prior to use the reservoir is ruptured to release its contents into the pad.

Such applicators have the obvious disadvantages of being expensive to produce and susceptible to premature release of the liquid from the reservoir.

The aim of the invention is to provide an applicator which alleviates at least some of the disadvantages of present methods of treatment as oulined above.

According to the invention we propose an applicator for treating skin complaints in the form of an absorbent tissue made moist by impregnation with a predetermined quantity of a liquid mixture to be applied to the skin, the liquid mixture comprising a carrier liquid which carries at least one active ingredient and the carrier liquid being such as to leave the surface of the skin rapidly after the liquid mixture has been applied to the skin to leave behind the active ingredient on the skin, the applicator being such that upon rubbing or wiping against the skin an approximately controlled quantity of liquid mixture is applied to the skin and an equivalent approximately controlled dosage of active ingredient deposited on the skin.

The active ingredient will vary depending on the skin complaint to be treated, for example a fungicide would be impregnated into the tissue to treat Athlete's Foot, and antibiotics would be impregnated to treat bacterial skin complaints. The tissue can be any absorbent sheet material but is commonly an absorbent non-woven fabric. The tissue preferably has sufficient wet-strength to withstand storage and rubbing and must also deliver an appropriate dose of active ingredient to the skin.

Essentially, the solution will consist of a suitable active ingredient, such as a fungicide, carried by a liquid. The active ingredient is preferably dissolved in the liquid. Ideally the liquid should have cleansing properties, be non-toxic, be reasonably quick drying, be bacteriostatic and be pleasant to use. A suitable liquid might be a mixture of propanol and water or some other simple solution. There is no need to add colour or perfumes or carriers which will coat the skin, but they could be included if so desired.

The applicators, or wipes, should be packed so that they remain in good condition for a long time, preferably over a year. Suitable forms of packaging are a foil-lined sachet containing one wipe or a small pot with sealable lid which holds a perforated roll of wipes which are dispensed one at a time. Instructions giving guidance on how to use the wipes, and how frequently to use them, is preferably given on the packaging. In this way the optimum dosage of active ingredient can be applied to the skin.

An example of such an applicator is a wipe for treating athlete's foot comprising a strong porous paper sheet impregnated with a carrier liquid of a mixture of 15g by volume of propanol in water which carries a fungicide dissolved in the carrier liquid. Suitable fungicides include Tolnaftate BP and Chlorphenesin BP.

There may in other examples be other additional active ingredients in the carrier liquid, such as components to relieve the irritation, cleaning agents, or mildly abrasive agents to de-scale the skin.

The athlete's foot wipes are used as follows: The damp wipe is used to clean the skin between the toes, gently rubbing away the loose dead skin which is collected in the wipe. The cleaned skin is left damp with a solution which dries reasonably quickly, cooling the inflamed area and leaving behind a film of the fungicidal agent. The wipe is disposed of by flushing down the W.C. Another wipe can be used to complete the cleaning of either the toes or the fingers using it.

As can be seen, athlete's foot wipes are easy to use, even by a child. They have an important cleaning action as well as applying a medicament. They do not leave the patient's hands dirty or contaminated. They do not clog the pores of the treated skin. They do not leave a contaminated or untidy environment.

The dosage of medicament used can be controlled by controlling the number of tissues used, and the period between successive applications.

Similar situations where a cleaning action combined with the application of a measured dose of a medicament can be achieved by similar wipes include the treatment of acne, in which case benzoyl peroxide or tetracycline are preferred as active ingredients.

Claims

1. An applicator for applying a liquid mixture to the skin to treat a skin complaint comprising an absorbent tissue made moist by impregnation with a predetermined quantity of the liquid mixture, the liquid mixture comprising a carrier liquid which carries at least one active ingredient and the carrier liquid being such as to leave the surface of the skin rapidly after the liquid mixture has been applied to the skin to leave behind the active ingredient on the skin, the applicator being such that upon rubbing or wiping against the skin an approximately controlled quantity of liquid mixture is applied to the skin and an equivalent approximately controlled dosage of active ingredient deposited on the skin.

2. An applicator according to claim 1 in which the active ingredient is dissolved in the carrier liquid.

3. An applicator according to claim 1 or claim 2 in which the absorbent tissue comprises a flat sheet of material.

4. An applicator according to any preceding claim in which the tissue is fully saturated with the liquid mixture.

5. An applicator according to any preceding claim which is sufficiently strong when wet to withstand rubbing against the skin to clean the skin.

6. An applicator according to claim 5 which has a mild abrasive action when rubbed against the skin.

7. An applicator according to any preceding claim in which the absorbent tissue comprises non-woven fabric.

8. An applicator according to any preceding claim in which the active ingredient comprises a fungicide.

9. An applicator according to any preceding claim in which the carrier liquid is a mixture of propanol and water.

10. An applicator according to any preceding claim in which the carrier liquid evaporates when applied to the skin.

11. An applicator according to any preceding claim in which the liquid mixture has more than one active ingredient.

12. An applicator according to any preceding claim in which an antibiotic is included in the liquid mixture as the or an active ingredient.

13. An applicator according to any preceding claim in which benzoyl peroxide is included in the liquid mixture as the or an active ingredient.

14. A package containing one or more applicators according to any preceding claim, the package being sealed to maintain the applicators in good condition.

15. A package according to claim 14 which contains two or more applicators and is resealable and has instructions indicating the desired frequency of use of a new applicator to optimise the effect on the skin complaint of the approximately controlled dosage of active ingredient that is deposited on the skin by each applicator.

16. An applicator substantially as herein described.

17. A package of two or more applicators substantially as herein described.