Many of us have dry skin, an obvious consequence of our environment, lifestyle and genetics. By learning to moisturize and protect oneself, dry skin becomes completely non-problematic. If left un-checked however, dry skin can instigate flare-ups of actual skin disorders like eczema.
I learned a few years ago that if I neglect to moisturize, come spring after months of assault from the dry indoor air created from the furnace mixed with my love of hot bathing, I will develop a type of eczema called asteatotic eczema on my shins. The first time I noticed it I was totally horrified and thought I was doomed to suffer with poor skin now for the rest of my life! Luckily I learned to back off on over bathing and to ensure that I moisturize regularly, and ever since I have not had a return of this problem. I basically learned, first hand, that dry skin can lead to problems, so prevention is the key to avoiding the problem. Pretty simple really.
Now on the flip side, are those people that have dry skin and moisturize constantly, but yet they still suffer. What is up with that? What actually could be happening is that an underlining skin problem has already taken place, like eczema or psoriasis, and it is the reason the skin is drying out. Basically the dry skin that I experience is due to both my environment and lifestyle choices, or external circumstances, whereas the dry skin we are talking about here is due to internal causes stemming from a diseased state.
I remember a man I saw several years ago who came to me for a fertility related problem. I did my examination and noticed that his hands were quite cracked and dry. Because this fellow was a hard working tradesman, using his hands a lot, his GP had for years told him that his hands were the way they were from his work. The GP said all he could do was to keep moisturizing, that or quit his job.
When I took a closer took at his hands I noticed that they were more than just dry and cracked, there was actually some red scaly patches on his hands as well. I asked if he had other similar patches on his body, like his elbows and knees. Sure enough he did have some on his knees, and in fact he said his father was very similar. From what I could tell this looked suspiciously like psoriasis to me.
I prescribed some external herbal ointment and a tea for him to drink twice a day. After a couple of months, we noticed that his hands became very supple. No cracks, dryness, nor red scaly patches, and better yet this was taking place without him having to change his career path! I assumed my diagnosis of psoriasis was correct, as was evidenced through the way that he responded to treatment.
A year or so later this fellow was still free of the dry cracked hands that had plagued him for most of his adult life and, better yet, his wife became pregnant! Three years of trying to conceive and there it was. I am sure, as is this fellow, that the inflammation that was affecting his hands, was also affecting his fertility. Dry skin was thus a sign of a much deeper, more systemic, problem.
Wising you health,
Dr. Trevor Erikson
Copyright © 2019 Dr. Trevor Erikson