Transepidermal water loss

Insensible loss of body water can threaten fluid balance; in humans, substantial dehydration sometimes occurs before a person realizes what is happening.

However, TEWL is also affected by environmental factors such as humidity, temperature, the time of year (season variation) and the moisture content of the skin (hydration level).

Therefore, dehydration, metabolic acidosis, and conditions such as anhydremia or concentration of the blood are often critical issues for healthcare providers to consider in the treatment of burn patients.

[5][6] TEWL is of major concern in public health, considering the relatively high rate of burn incidence among communities in the developing world due to poor quality cooking stoves.

[7] Resources for burn care in local clinics are often scarce and depending on the affected surface area, TEWL is a major issue that can be overlooked.

Principle of an instrument measuring transepidermal water loss. Water vapor is diffusing through the transparently shown cylinder. The yellow arrow symbolizes the diffusion direction. The two dark red square elements are two pairs of sensors each measuring relative humidity and temperature.