Itching in winter: essential to protect the skin

The cold is a declared enemy of the skin. Here’s how to deal with the ailments that can result.

There are no more mid-seasons. And for the skin it is a real trouble, because the mild and gently sunny climate, without extremes of temperature and humidity, typical of the spring and early autumn months is ideal for skin well-being.

The winter cold, on the contrary, is its declared enemy because it puts a strain on the balance of the dermoepidermal barrier, promoting sensitization, cracking, redness and itching.

As much damage comes, then, from the temperature changes to which we inevitably expose ourselves in the cold season, entering and leaving heated environments, and from the heating itself which, by reducing too much the humidity of the air inside homes and offices, promotes dehydration, itching and skin irritation.

To prevent and alleviate these annoyances, in the months from November to March, the watchwords are “respect” and “protect”.

Barriers to cold damage

The most exposed and delicate skin areas, such as the face and hands, pay the price of the rigors of winter, but also the skin covered by clothes suffers to some extent if it does not receive adequate care and nourishment.

Dehydration, sensitization, burning and itching can appear in any area of the body, especially if promoted by rubbing with rough or irritating clothing.

If the symptoms are only these, there is no need to worry; vice versa, if a persistent itching is associated with rashes or reddish or coffee-milk spots it is advisable to consult your doctor because it could be a mycosis contracted during the summer, in the pool or in the gym, without realizing it, and became evident only after a few months.

Given the absence of specific diseases, the first advice to avoid discomfort and maintain a soft, luminous and elastic skin even in the cold months, is to always protect face and hands with scarf and gloves and repeatedly apply moisturizing and emollient creams all over the body.

A recommendation that must be respected especially by children, by those with a sensitive epidermis and by those suffering from atopy, but also advantageous for those with healthy and fairly resistant skin.

Equally important, it is to avoid too frequent or prolonged contact with water, especially if it is very hot or cold.

Baths and showers should be short (10-15 minutes maximum), made with warm water (38 ° -40 ° C) and using a mild detergent, with a weakly acidic pH (5.5-6.0), as is the natural one of the epidermis.

Those who have a fragile and irritable skin should prefer bathing to the shower and add emollient and moisturizing products (for example, based on vegetable oils, starch or oats) to the water, then using soft towels in natural fibers to dry.

Regular and specific hydration

After gently dabbing, the skin should be moisturized with emulsions or creams of certified quality, free of preservatives, dyes and potentially sensitizing perfumes.

When, unfortunately, inflammation and itching are already present in limited areas, to mitigate them it is possible to use more specific highly moisturizing creams, which can be purchased in pharmacies without a prescription.

Thanks to the presence of lipids similar to the natural ones of the skin (lamellar lipids) and vitamin precursors, such as provitamin B5 (panthenol), these formulations are able to promote rapid regeneration of the surface hydrolipid barrier.

The skin discomfort will begin to disappear after a few hours of their application and the problem will be solved within a few days. If this is not the case, you should consult your doctor.