What is dry skin?
Dry skin, also called xerosis cutis or xerodermie, is a state of the skin. It is characterized by dryness and flaking, the cause is a relative shortage of water in the stratum corneum. It is a major cause of itch with no skin abnormalities.
What causes dry skin?
Many factors can contribute to dry skin:
- age
- people with hereditary problems of ichthyosis vulgaris and atopy have more prone to dry skin
- low humidity (eg frost)
- (lnnate) skin's lipids
- excessive use of soap and irritants, or prolonged hot shower
- poor kidney function and kidney dialysis.
- unilateral or too little food
- use of certain medications (such as anti-acne)
Dry skin symptoms
Symptoms of dry skin include:
- fine scaling, often starting on the lower legs
- itching, especially after bathing or showering
- woolen clothing is not tolerated because of the itch.
- the skin does not shine, but what seems whitish
If the skin is very dry, it may proceed in asteatotisch eczema
Dry skin treatment
Prevent drying out of the skin by skin grease regularly with cream or ointment, and use shower oil when showering. Sometimes it is necessary less frequently or less hot shower. There is no clear impact demonstrated capsules with special fats or fatty acids. The use of lotion or body milk helps short term against the itching, but will in the long run exacerbate the problem since it contains a lot of water and lotion but little fat or oil.