Overcoming Dry Skin and Its Causes

There’s nothing fun about dry skin. It feels rough, itches and can produce flakes that resemble dandruff. Many people have dry skin that causes cracking, redness and bleeding if they don’t counteract the condition. Fortunately, there are effective ways to treat dry skin and help stop it from coming back after it heals.

Common Causes of Dry Skin

Dry air is one of the most common causes of dry skin and can affect anyone. Those living in dry climates, like the Desert Southwest, are especially vulnerable to developing dry skin. So do people who live in cold climates when the winter weather causes the humidity level to drop and the skin to dry out. The condition worsens if you wear blue jeans with pockets that rub the tops of your hands and cause irritation.

Some people wash too often with hand soap that dries out the skin or they spend too much time outside where the sun can beat down on their skin. Swimming in pools that have a lot of chlorine or frequent showering are also common ways that people cause their skin to become very dry. Fortunately, vitamin C daily moisturizer can negate the effects of common causes of dry skin and prevent the discomfort that often goes with the condition.

Medical Conditions Make Dry Skin Worse

You might have a medical condition that makes you prone to dry skin at any time of the year. Dermatitis generally is an allergic reaction to some substance that comes into contact with an area of the skin and causes it to swell up and dry out. You might contact poison ivy, poison oak or another outdoor substance that causes an allergic reaction.

It’s also possible to contact artificial substances that irritate your skin or cause an allergic reaction or dermatitis. Many materials are made from oil-based products that might irritate your skin after prolonged contact with them, such as the arms on a desk chair. If you notice irritated or inflamed skin when using an item for an extended period, your skin might be sensitive to it and dry out.

Symptoms of Dry Skin

Dry skin often first shows a pinkish color before it worsens and starts to crack or become rough to the touch. When your skin dries out, it’s dehydrated and might show a gray or whitish tint along fine lines that seemingly develop overnight or over a matter of days. Dry skin can also create flakes and have a rough texture that you might be tempted to pick at to remove the scale-like texture and dry, dead skin.

Some spots, like the heel, can become very dry and brittle, which leads to cracking. The cracking might become bad enough to make an affected heel, elbow or another body part feel sore and possibly bleed. Picking at it only makes the condition worse, but you can treat it with moisturizer to hydrate the skin and help it heal faster.

When to See a Doctor

If using vitamin C moisturizer or another suitable skin care product that is available on store shelves doesn’t keep your dry skin under control, a visit to the family doctor could help. Your doctor can determine if the cause is medical due to an allergy or another condition that irritates, inflames and dries out your skin.

Your doctor also can tell if the problem is due to common exposure to sun, chlorine water or caustic soaps that irritate your skin. Once the problem is diagnosed, your doctor can prescribe a special ointment or another substance to fix it.