Skin challenges during winter

Winter is particularly a challenging time for skin and normal individuals and those with skin disorders face a difficult period. It can be troublesome for people suffering from skin disorders, particularly psoriasis.

- Dr Sunil Kumar Prabhu

The prolonged chill with reduced humidity impairs our skin barrier function and leads to loss of water from skin that makes the skin dry, brittle and irritated. Winter is right around the corner and it means it is that time of the year that makes us deal with dull, dry, and pale skin, thanks to the cold. Perfect skin is always a challenge in the winter season. Itchy, dry, and generally unhappy-looking skin can all be because of the lack of external and internal nourishment.

Some of the common skin concerns during winters are Xeroxis, Ichthyosis, Eczemas, Atopic dermatitis, Psoriasis and all conditions with disorders of keratinization of skin face a particularly difficult situation. Acne or pimple management needs a bit of altered treatment since some medications used for this condition further dries the skin and creates an irritated inflamed face. Anywhere between 30 to 50% of these skin disorders running into a few hundreds of patients need specialized management of the condition with additional moisturizers and other medications.

A middle-aged patient with Nummular eczema presents to the skin department with multiple areas of itchy and dried skin areas with redness and the skin is inflamed and irritable. A young child diagnosed with atopic dermatitis also has what we call Flare up of the Dermatitis and comes with multiple areas of redness and irritation. An older patient aged 75 years also presents with sudden increasing dryness and irritation of skin with flakiness seen in the arms and body.