Dry Skin Or Something Else?

Even if you discover that your dry skin is actually a more serious condition, still be calm in the knowledge that you are not the only one with a particular skin problem.

Your dry skin may be as simple as feeling dry with a dry appearance, or it may become so extreme your skin can begin to crack, similar to cracks in dry ground. Ouch. Hopefully you will catch any problems before your skin gets to that point, as skin cracking is painful and can be difficult to be rid of.     Should your dry skin prove to be more of a problem than you thought, find out if it is something more than just everyday, average dry skin. Then you can take more steps to help your skin heal.

Xeroderma: This condition of abnormally dry skin has a number of possible causes. Certain medications, an overexposure to the sun, a systemic illness, or a deficiency of vitamin A can all be reasons you have skin that is drier than it should be. You may be experiencing a great deal of flaky skin, itchiness, and other strong symptoms attributed to dry skin. You should check with a dermatologist first before deciding this is the one and only condition you have, but in the case that you do, knowing the reasons behind it can help lead you to finding ways of freeing yourself from excessive dryness.

Eczema: There are many different types of eczema, ranging in their appearance, location, and reasons for developing. Generally, eczema is the result of your skin reacting to sources that can be either external or internal, such as soaps you wash with or medication you have taken. Skin that becomes inflamed can lead to dry skin that itches, flakes, oozes, and can take on other unpleasant attributes, depending upon which type of eczema you develop.

Before taking any other medications or putting on skin care products, find out if they will contain ingredients that will only serve to aggravate your eczema. And do all you can to avoid stress, as this has shown to increase eczema outbreaks (similar to stress affecting acne outbreaks).

Psoriasis: Like eczema, psoriasis can come in many different shapes and forms and show up on various parts of the body. Also like eczema, scientists have yet to figure out the main reasons the skin condition appears. Psoriasis is the results of excessive skin growth. Normal skin grows and eventually makes its way toward the surface, the other layers of dead skin coming off. This is cell turnover.

However, people with psoriasis still have healthy skin cells living out their time on the surface when new skin cells want to move on up and take their place. The problem is then dealing with too many layers of live cells, which blood vessels then all try to supply necessary elements to, which can result in redness and swelling. Dry skin can then appear, looking scaly, silvery, and have other various characteristics depending upon the type of psoriasis you suffer from. Certain treatments have some effect on psoriasis, and like other skin problems, you should see your dermatologist before starting any large-scale skin regimen on your own.

Conditions such as eczema and psoriasis tend to be chronic, but some can appear and disappear depending upon the cause. Most of these problems will also be quite obvious as being more than just dry skin, but some people may choose to shrug it off as a temporary problem. They allow it to get worse, more aggravated, and only go to a doctor after it gets to a point where it will be a long road to getting back to that place of happy skin.