Symptoms
The typical signs of dry skin are an unpleasant feeling of tension and itching, the skin flakes. The pores of dry skin are fine, often the skin appears cracked and brittle. In principle, the skin can be dry all over the body, but areas with only a few sebaceous glands are particularly frequently affected. These include the elbows or shins. Dry skin is also often reddened, and very dry skin can lead to inflammation or eczema.
Causes
Dry skin has many different causes, some of which can be directly influenced by the affected persons themselves, while others (like a genetic predisposition) can be treated by appropriate care. In general, the cause of dry skin is that the sebaceous glands in the skin do not secrete enough sebum and thus the moisture balance of the skin is not balanced. External factors such as dry heating air or unsuitable hygiene and care play just as much a role here as internal factors.These include the hormone balance (teenagers, on the other hand, get pimples due to excessive sebum production because of their changing hormone situation), age and certain underlying diseases such as chronic inflammatory bowel disease, thyroid dysfunction or psoriasis.
Furthermore, the individual nutritional habits of those affected are of great importance. The skin as a mirror of the body’s interior can suffer from nutritional imbalances. Here, a distinction must be made between a deficiency situation where the body lacks important nutrients and vitamins for the formation of the skin, and an excess of potentially allergenic products such as lactose, gluten or fructose.
