Parents have hit out after their children were left crying in pain and with 'red raw' hands following claims they were being made to wash them 10 times a day at school.
Furious mums and dads are demanding schools let up on their vigorous Covid -safe hand washing regime which they say is "just too much".
All schools across the UK increased their regular handwashing with the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, in a bid to keep infections at bay.
However parents of children at one school in Teesside have blasted the practice after claiming their children have been left with sore hands from too much washing.
One mum says her daughters came home with irritated skin and claims its down to the sheer number of times they are having to wash their hands, Teesside Live reports.
The mum even bought her girls hand cream to help but it resulted in stinging and now she has instructed them to refuse to wash as often.
She said: "I'm all for good hand hygiene and keeping others safe but I just can't bear my boys crying in pain every night."
"School has been really understanding, to be fair. But they seem to be just accepting of us all trying to treat the problem, instead of them trying to prevent it in the first place.
"I have specifically instructed mine not to wash so often. It's not the soap or gel but more the frequency and lack of readily-available moisturiser."
The NHS recommends hand washing as one of the easiest ways to protect against illnesses and viruses and suggests doing so for 20 seconds or the amount of time it takes to sing "Happy Birthday" twice.
But the results aren't pleasing everyone with one mum saying her child had been given a steroid cream and had "loads of small cuts where the skin is broken."
Another mum-of-two said her doctor had seen a "queue of mums", all with children who had irritated skin.
"I think it's shocking that the poor kids are being left with red raw hands like this.
"It's all well and good making them scrub their hands and then sanitise them with gel - but what about moisturising them?
"My son's hands have been so sore he's been crying and when I took him to the doctors, the GP said he's had a queue of mums bring their children for the same thing."
Another mum agreed: "My daughter has sensitive skin anyway, but washing their hands 9-10 times a day before meals, in between meals, after the toilet, when they get to school and leave school, is just too much."
Mums have been recommending heavy duty emollient creams while others say the hand washing has reached "ridiculous" levels.
"Without providing a moisturiser," wrote one, "[schools are] actually breaching health safety guidelines."
According to the NHS website, hand washing is advised after using the toilet, before and after eating or handling food, and after blowing your nose, sneezing or coughing.
It also recommends hand washing before and after treating a cut or wound and after touching animals including pets, their food and after cleaning out their cages.
The website says: "Washing your hands properly removes dirt, viruses and bacteria to stop them spreading to other people and objects, which can spread illnesses such as food poisoning, flu or diarrhoea.
"It can help stop people picking up infections and spreading them to others."
