Like all types of heat, the sun dries your skin. Yet damage from ultraviolet (UV) radiation penetrates far beyond the top layer of skin. Usually, dry skin is not a result of any kind of serious health problem. Nevertheless, you need to be careful and treat this phenomenon timely, since it can cause one a great deal of discomfort, leading to wrinkles, shriveled skin cells, irritation and many other issues.
Moreover, if your skin is affected by chronic dryness, it may cause you serious distress, both on physical and psychological levels. The cosmetic products we use and the environment we spend time in, all are factor affecting our skin. Thus, excessive warmth or coldness may lead to dry skin. Also, not using moisturizers or using harsh soaps and cosmetic products of the same type, both can lead to skin problems like the above mentioned ones.
Signs of Chronic Dry Skin
Dry skin usually affects us during specific times of the year. Also, it is likely to be visible on certain parts of our body, leaving others intact. Yet, many factors are involved in this occurrence such as our age, our health, our living environment and geographical location as well as the amount of time we expose our body to environmental conditions.
Dry skin manifests through skin tightness, especially experienced after taking a shower, bathing or spending time in a swimming pool. Dry skin feels dehydrated and shrunken, being rough and sometimes itchy. Moreover, flakes and dry scales may appear on the surface of the skin affected by dryness. Redness, cracks, lines or bleeding may all take place too.
Thus, react as soon as you notice these signs. However, if you seem to be incapable of dealing with the dryness, cannot treat the redness, itchiness, sores or excessive scaling and flaking, seek medical assistance as soon as possible.
Reasons behind Chronic Dry Skin
Harsh weather conditions are the most common reasons behind chronic dry skin. Nevertheless, there can be other culprits as well. For example, air conditioning and central heating may lead to low humidity levels in your dwelling areas, triggering this uncomfortable skin condition. Additionally, people who enjoy extremely hot showers, or spend a lot of time in swimming pools may have the lipid barriers on the surface of their skin broken, suffering from dryness in the area afterwards. Harsh cosmetic products may have the same effect.
Next, the harmful UV rays of the sun are capable of depleting your skin of water, causing the dryness and loss of elasticity. Finally, atopic dermatitis is a condition which manifests through eczema and dry skin. Also, psoriasis and thyroid disorders can lead to chronic dry skin, due to buildup of dry, dead skin cells or hormonal imbalances and insufficient sweating.
- www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/9-ways-to-banish-dry-skin
- Photo courtesy of SteadyHealth
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