by Wendy Loft

Created on: February 08, 2007   Last Updated: April 17, 2007

Healthy skin integrity is our first line of defense against bacteria, infections, and related problems; therefore, anything we can do to maintain our protective barrier, our skin, will benefit us now and in years to follow. Aside from the common skin irritations we experience in a lifetime, winter's cold, harsh temperatures, accompanied by our choice to live indoors where humidity may be lacking, increase our risk for additional skin ailments, the most common being, "dry skin." Certain health conditions, certain medications, the aging process, exposure to harsh chemicals, accidental trauma to the skin during our daily activities, all are factors with the potential to cause dry skin in the first place.

Dry skin, be it just plain dry and crying out for moisture, or whether it is flaky, abrased, chapped/chafed, inflamed, perhaps with open painful cracks that ooze, and/or a persistent sensation of itchiness that, when repeatedly scratched, causes the appearance of a minute blister-like rash, for example, on the palmar surfaces of the handsthese represent signs and symptoms that require treatment in order to preserve the intactness of our skin.

Prevention of the factors that cause dry skin, particularly during the winter, include, but are not limited to the following: inadequate protection (not wearing hat, mitts, scarf, long enough coat, boots) of bare skin, possibly causing trauma to, for example, the forehand when you are scraping the windshield of your car or shoveling snow, or having to walk a long distance wearing only a short winter coat while your legs are exposed to the cold biting wind wearing clothing or boots (ill-fitting boots, particularly those that constrict the feet and toes) that are still damp from previous outings in the cold and/or snow, perhaps even not wearing boots, opting instead to wear your fashionable runners or some other shoes.

Remember, that cold temperatures cause blood vessels to constrict (become smaller, narrower), which in turn reduces the circulation to places furthest from the heart (toes, feet, legs, hands, arms, nose, ears). The warm temperature of your bloodstream then is reduced, thus making worse the chilling of your extremities. Coming indoors, then, you warm up, but you lose moisture from your skin in the warm,...and dry environment which is often heated electrically, with gas, oil, or perhaps, a wood stoveall increasing the moisture loss from your skin.

So now, let's move on to these "tips" for "fighting dry skin in winter."

Baths

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