Dry skin
(Also called: Xeroderma)
Hate it when itch? you are not new who hate when itch or rash occur on your body. Itching can be caused by many things but having dry skin is what makes it worse for you. Dry skin is deficient in oil and lipids when compared to regular skin.
Why dry skin make you itch?
Dry skin, eczema, and hives are the reason you are feeling itching all over your body. Dry skin lacks oil and lipids, so when you get exposed to conditions like exposing skin to the atmosphere or environmental conditions that may irritate the skin, remain in contact to direct sunlight can be a problem, using strong laundry soaps, shampoos, or body lotion can make your skin behave uncommonly.
So first you have to know how your skin behaves in different environmental conditions. When exposure to artificial products or what products do triggers your skin itching. Keep them in mind and try to make less contacting your skin with them is the best thing you can do.
Causes
It can be caused by many factors related to your daily life activities, some environmental conditions, disease conditions are also reasons for this. They are discussed below:
- Environment condition
- Taking hot showers
- Strong soaps and detergents
- Disease conditions
- Stress
- Drug abuse
- Medicine reactions
- Less water intake
Environment condition
When you are exposed to the atmospheric condition where the humidity levels and temperature are considerably low, likewise in winter seasons our skin tends to be dry more. When the air in the atmosphere is cold and dry, the water that our skin holds gets evaporated more easily. This makes your skin feel dry and tightness is observed. But seasonal changes don’t have more impact if you live in hot and humid areas like desert areas.
The world’s largest hot desert is the Sahara desert. In the category of hot desert, Sahara desert holds the title for biggest. Other cold deserts bigger than the Sahara are Antarctica and Arctic, which are cold deserts.
Taking hot showers
Showering or having a bath with hot water can make your skin dry, hot showers impact the same as sunburn and inflaming of skin. The keratin cells present in the outermost layer of skin get damaged by hot showering. They make your skin more itch and red. The skin’s natural balance of moisture is disrupted, natural oil, proteins, fat which makes your skin healthy got stolen from the skin. It’s better to wet your skin with lukewarm or cold water.
Strong soap and detergents
Using strong soap for bathing and detergents for washing clothes have effects in making your skin dry. So it becomes important to use the soaps which are likely to benefit your skin type. If your skin is dry soaps like dove beauty bar, goat milk soap, Cetaphil deep cleansing bar, etc. can be used.
Stress
Probably you are not aware that stress is also a cause of dry skin. Because of stress, your body’s cortisol level increases up (leading to more oily skin), at weekends your skin becomes dry when you get too much exposure to stress at work. Practicing meditation exercises are best to deal with mental stress.
Drug abuse
Addiction to smoking, intake of alcohol, injecting chemicals often called drugs are also considered as the factors which lead to dry skin or other skin problems. Eg- Cigarette contains carbon monoxide, which depletes oxygen from the skin, Nicotine which slows down the blood flow, due to which essential nutrients doesn’t reach our skin, it becomes dry and lost its natural color. Other drugs or addictive substances also damage skin’s health all have their specific ways according to drug constituent profile by which it variates health condition.
Medicine reactions
All of us from time to time suffer from different health conditions for treatment for which we take medicines, unaware of fact that medicines (not all) make our skin dry. So if you are already having a dry skin type it’s become important to take into account the medicine you are taking doesn’t have any skin-related problems.
Common medicines that cause dry skin:
- Diuretics (eg- furosemide or hydrochlorthiazide, Chlorthalidone)
- Cholesterol medication (eg- Accutane, pravastatin, simvastatin, and lovastatin, etc)
Less water intake
Less water intake is a common aspect that people don’t see or ignore as not important. But if your water intake is less it will make your skin dry, water is the main factor in skin’s elasticity, It will be lost or tighten if the water intake is not enough. water helps in excreting or removal of many toxic or unwanted substances which will ultimately help in raising skin’s health.
8 glasses of water a day is good for the body and skins out of toxins.
Disease condition
When you don’t care when the skin starts becoming dry over time it may develop into disease condition Atopic dermatitis (eczema). Causing redness, cracking, and inflammation.
- Some disease conditions like hypothyroidism
- Diabetes
- Malnutrition
Are also the reason for dry skin, in diabetes, you can follow a healthy breakfast for diabetics, these foods are good for the morning time.
Symptoms of dry skin
Doesn’t it better to know whether you having dry skin or not?
You probably want to know, Some symptoms people generally observe because of dry skin, are discussed below:
- Itchiness and tightness
- Difficulty doing work in a hot and dry climate
- Looks rough when you rub it
- Gray, ashy skin
- Redness observed
- Bleeding deep cracks on the skin
- Low to the high feeling of flaking, scaling, or peeling of skin
- Roughness observed when touched
- Feel tightness after a heavy workout session
These are symptoms a person usually has when they suffer from dry skin.
It’s good to know the symptoms, to have better treatment for your skin, and to minimize these symptoms you will take appropriate steps keeping your skin type in mind.
Treatment
The two approaches that you can take by mildness to severity graph of your dry skin to cure the condition are:
- Self-treatment – including lifestyle changes and other things except taking medicines, treating dry skin by natural remedies. The self-care approach is taken into action when the skin condition is mild or in just starting phase.
- Seeking medical care- going to the doctor, diagnosing the problem, likewise taking medicines or other required medical care. At times medical care is important if the skin condition is not getting well by self-care approach.
Self-treatment
Some modifications in your lifestyle to get rid of dry skin are listed below:
- Use moisturizing oils and lotions, coconut oil is best.
- Use products that work to add nutrition to your skin.
- Using soothing creams or products.
- Anti-wrinkle agents also work well.
- Bathing with lukewarm or cool water is best.
- Add oatmeal to your bath to overcome itching.
- After you take shower or bath don’t rub the skin with a towel rather try gently patting the skin’s surface.
- Drink more water 4-5 liters a day is recommended.
- Avoid dressing that can irritate your skin like woolen clothes and other fabrics.
- Don’t let yourself in contact with water for long.
- In winter’s using a humidifier is the best option.
Also read- Guide to care for your skin during wax therapy.
Medical care
If the condition persists after self-approach to dry skin, now it’s time to move to medical care. Going to a dermatologist is best and accordingly taking the medicines prescribed by him will surely help to get rid of skin problems.
Questions you want to ask the doctor regarding your skin problem
- From which skin problem I am suffering?
- What are the causes for this?
- What should I do and use to overcome the discomfort?
- Which medicines should I take or how changing my lifestyle makes my skin healthier?
- Effective medicines or lotions for this?
- How much time does it take to live with healthy skin free from any discomfort?
A doctor may ask few questions
- From how much time you are suffering from dry skin?
- What are your daily habits?
- Which soap and shampoos are included in body washing purposes?
- Are you taking hot showers or not?
- Is there any drug addiction?
- What is your daily diet?
- Using any skin irritant products like deodorants, perfumes, etc.
- Having any other health-related problem or disease condition.
According to answers to these questions, the doctor will find what type of skin problem you are suffering from and what’s the best treatment for it.
Medications
List of medications recommended:
- Ammonium lactate.
- Lac-Hydrin
- Urea
- Aquaphor
- Eucerin
- CeraVe
- EpiCeram
- Cetaphil Lotion
