Treating chronic dry skin in winter
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By Lee Sung-hun
Winter is a very dry season in Korea. Although the cold and dry air may feel refreshing to some, there are people who feel itchy all over the body and habitually scratch themselves whenever such weather begins.
With such dry air, there are others who also complain of dryness related ailments such as dry nasal mucosa and dry coughing. Conditions can get even worse indoors as heating can make the relative humidity even lower than outside.
Especially for the people with dry skin types the dry air and cold wind of this season can rob the skin’s stratum corneum pigment layer of its moisture to cause miniscule pigments to peel off and cause itchiness.
The stratum corneum pigment layer as the outer-most layer of the skin contains sufficient moisture to keep skin healthy.
However, if the moisture in the stratum corneum is lost, a person may suffer from xeroderma. Xerodama is a condition where the skin starts to lose its moisture when the outer air becomes too dry (usually below 50 percent relative humidity) and when it becomes itchy.
Approximately 20 percent of those in and over their 50s who have lost moisture retention capacity in their skin are known to be suffering from such a condition.
In Oriental medicine, “dry syndrome,” called chobyeong, refers to all the dryness symptoms in and out of our body. Dry syndrome includes dry skin conditions such as xeroderma, psoriasis, and atopy, respiratory conditions where throat and nasal mucosa become dry, and also constipation caused by dry intestinal mucosa as well as xeroma ― the abnormal dryness of eyes.
The biggest reason for dry skin is the lack of “blood and fluid.” In Oriental medicine, “blood,” called hyul, refers to the blood and all the nutrients carried in it, and “fluid,” called jinack, refers to all other bodily fluid and liquid components.
Weak qi in the kidneys can disrupt the production of “fluid” that causes lack of fluid in the skin to make it dry. Deteriorated functions in the spleen and heart disrupt the absorption of nutrients which is essential to generate “blood” and can also contribute to the lack of moisture in the skin to cause itchiness.
Such a lack of “blood and fluid” from deteriorated functions of internal organs can also make the throat dry and cause dry coughing. Patients may also display pale complexion and complain of frizzy hair and loss of them. Oriental treatment then focuses on treating the particular organ in trouble to restore its functions to help generating “blood and fluid.”
Accumulating “heat” in the body also contribute to dry skin. Eating too much fatty foods, drinking too much alcohol and general lack of moderation in consuming food can cause pathogenic heat to accumulate inside our body that robs the skin of its moisture to cause itchiness.
Such patients usually have dark and lackluster skin that is dry and rough to the touch while the peri-nasal area is partially oily. Oriental medicine then prescribes herbal medicine with ingredients that clear heat and moisten the dryness while encouraging the patients to change their dietary habits.
Xeroderma can also caused by stress.
For example, anger related stimulation causes the rise of heat in our body. Patients with depression and other mental stress usually display chapped lips and dry skin.
Xeroderma and associated itchy skin can be aggravated by mental stress, and be associated with insomnia, anxiety and other psychological symptoms. Releasing tension and relaxation are key for the patient while the Oriental treatment seeks to replenish the “blood” in the heart while releasing the knotted qi to treat the xeroderma.
In order to prevent xeroderma, one must avoid consuming too much caffeine by reducing coffee and tea and also avoid excessive smoking and alcohol.
Taking a bath can also rob the skin of its moisture as well as skin oil. Generally speaking, taking one shower per day along with one bath per week is sufficient.
Popular Korean habit of removing the dead cells of stratum corneum while taking a bath can feel clean but it is not recommended. Stratum corneum is the first and outer most defense layer of our body. When artificially removed, it can cause damage to the epidermis to reduce skin’s general immunity to cause various skin ailments.