Dry

Dryness of the skin is also known as xerosis. This is a term derived from a Greek word meaning “dryness.” It should not be confused in name with psoriasis, the scaly red genetic skin disease, or cirrhosis, a disease of inflammation and hardening of the liver.

Xerosis is a very common, noninfectious disease that occurs with greater frequency during the fall and winter months because of the low humidity. In fact, many people call xerosis “winter itch” because during periods of low humidity, the skin dries out horribly. The condition is usually found in areas of the body where oil glands are not very numerous, such as the arms, legs, and trunk areas.

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When the skin dries out, the dead top layer of the skin stiffens and cracks. This cracking causes fissures in the skin, which then become irritated, inflamed, and very itchy. This problem is by no means confined to one age group or sex. It is found in young children, as well as in middle-aged and elderly adults. Even teenagers can get it on non oily parts of their skin.

There are many contributing factors to xerosis besides the season of the year. The second most common cause is the use of harsh antibacterial soaps. Some patients find that they contribute to dry skin. The newer liquid soaps in dispenser bottles are also extremely drying. In fact, many of these soaps contain substances that, during the summer months, can even react with sunlight striking the skin, causing an itchy eruption on the skin, which is very serious.

The next most common cause of xerosis is excess bathing. Television and commercial advertisements have made us all too conscious of the “need” for frequent skin cleansing. Repeated washing removes the skin’s natural oil layer. This allows evaporation of the skin’s water, which, in turn, leaves the very substance of the skin dry. In other words, water and bathing are extremely drying to the skin.

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What can you do about your extremely dry skin? Decrease our baths to a maximum of one every other day, if possible. If you find it necessary to bathe in between your baths, just spot-baths. After bathing, it’s absolutely crucial that you replace the oil being washed off your skin.

Dry-skin lotions have come a long way in 3,000 years, since the Egyptian women first used scented oils to coat their skin after bathing. That was really the first generation of moisturizers.

In the winter, you have several options open to you for your lips. Most women who wear lipstick do just fine with only that, if they wear it regularly and reapply it often. But much better than lip stick are Neutrogena Lip Protectant and Chap Stick with sunscreen.

These have the obvious extra advantage of having excellent sun screens contained within their formulations. They’re especially good if you’re going to be out in the snow in the wintertime because the cold, dry air and intense sun damage can destroy soft lips quickly. If you’re not going to be outside much, regular Vaseline is an excellent product for restoring the necessary moisture to the lips. However, it’s pretty easy to lick it off from time to time, so you’ll have to concentrate on applying it frequently.

Will a humidifier help dry skin? Yes, low humidity should be corrected if at all possible. This can be done quite adequately by obtaining a good humidifier. The whole-house type, although more expensive, is the best because you can regulate your entire environment with the touch of a button. Such a humidifier will commonly be able to increase the humidity to 45 to 50 percent, which should be sufficient to help your dry skin.

Another way, of course, is to buy the single-room type of humidifier. Be sure not to get a dehumidifier, though. That could be disastrous. You might also consider leaving pans of water near heat duct openings, on radiators, and in other places. It even helps if you’ll leave the commode lids open and leave a one-inch layer of water in the plugged bathtub all the time.

Another variant of dry eczema is called nummular eczema. Nummular eczema is dry, scaly skin with coin-shaped patches. It’s the most common form of winter itch on the arms and legs.

Though actually a type of xerosis, it can be somewhat harder to clear, and you may need lotions containing cortisone to get it under control.

The spots begin as tiny circular patches that are most often said, by the patients and some of their referring doctors, to be ringworm. Antifungal creams don’t have much effect except to temporarily heal a patch or two, just because the medicine is slightly moisturizing.

Dry Skin Causes And Treatment