With the approach of the winter seasons, what is more relaxing than sitting on a couch with a hot mug of coffee? I was staring at the fire for a period of time, engulfing myself in the warmth of the flames. I thought about the consequences of the winter season. My lips were chapped and my hands were dry. Beneath my comfortable, fluffy arm warmers, I could see a part of my arm with white flakes of dead skin cells. I wondered whether other people were experiencing the same manifestation of dry skin like me. I could only observe the people outside my room as they immersed themselves in the cool air.
As the winter season progressed, a lot of people seem to have rough and dry skins. The cold air has caused people to lose their natural oils from their skin. These oils maintain the body’s moisture that makes the skin look beautiful, healthy, soft, supple, and smooth. The lack of moisture in the skin equates to dry skin. Dry skins can be rough, itchy, and uncomfortable to the touch. A specific word for having dry skin during the winter seasons is the winter dryness. There is no discrimination on how young a person could be for a person’s skin to be experiencing the winter dryness.
With the outbreak of recent viruses like the Coronavirus and other ongoing deadly viruses like the influenza, many people are more cautious and aware of their hygiene routine. They do not want to get infected by any sort of viruses or bacteria. Because the media and most news outlets promote the practice of hand washing for at least 20 seconds with soap, many more people start to wash their hands.
However, the constant washing of the hands due to the desire to be clean and safe from bacteria and viruses does not help with reducing dry skin. Dry skin should not indicate that people should wash their hands less. The CDC recommends hand washing with soap over 60% ethanol hand sanitizer. This is because hand washing with soap could decrease the chance of missing the tiny crooks on your hands that are not covered by the hand sanitizer. In addition, water can wash away around 70% to 95% of harmful or unwanted bacteria. In comparison, hand sanitizer indiscriminately kills bacteria, both the good and bad. Keeping hygiene can help people against contracting preventable diseases or infections and reduce chances of contamination.
It is very common for people to stay indoors and have hot showers. However, the hot showers would open their pores and dry their skin even more. The best way to prevent this situation from happening is to use a humidifier to add moisture in the air and to take warm showers.
In many instances, although dry skin is harmless and very common, not giving your skin the proper care it needs when it is dry can lead to the cracking of your skin, redness, or even eczema. Proper care of your skin should include the application of moisturizer, lotions, creams, or ointments such as petroleum jelly. These products help trap moisture in your skin, protect the skin from irritants or toxins, and maintain the fresh look on your skin.
by Naive Health Lady Lu February 7, 2020
Naive Healthy Lady Lu 