Although the severe frost has eased for now, many readers have sore hands from the winter weather. Why cold is bad for the skin and how hand creams sometimes help, Pille Konno, president of the Estonian Society of Skin and Venereal Disease Doctors, explained to Novaator.
“The skin is a human protective organ. One of the functions of the skin is to protect us from the harmful effects of the external environment. The stratum corneum of the epidermis protects the body from physical and chemical irritants and infections,” Konno said.
Self
. “The water then evaporates faster from the surface of the skin and dehydration of the skin occurs. This manifests itself as dryness, asthetosis or xerosis of the skin. In acute cases, inflammation of the skin or dermatitis occurs, characterized by redness, swelling and peeling. People perceive it as tingling, itching and sometimes pain,” the doctor explained.
Specifically, it damages the skin’s natural protective barrier, encouraging water to escape and irritants to enter. According to Konno, this can in turn aggravate inflammatory skin diseases such as rosacea, atopic dermatitis and psoriasis, in which the skin’s protective function is compromised.
The hardest are the traces of winter in those areas of the body where the skin is thin and sensitive. This is why eyelids can suffer and chapped, sore lips are so common.
The hands of the innovative reader Author/source: Private collection
So what can you do to protect your skin?
To restore the protective barrier of the skin, it is necessary to regularly lubricate it with the prescribed means. According to Konno, ointments are best for hands in winter. Unlike creams, they contain petroleum jelly or fats of vegetable and animal origin. The ointment stays on the body longer and covers the skin with a denser layer, which is why the water that accumulates under it cannot evaporate. This in turn softens the stratum corneum of the skin. In addition, the effect of the ointment is deeper than that of creams.
Creams, on the other hand, have better absorption than ointments. Creams also have a lighter consistency and higher water content. “When you apply the cream to the skin, the water inside it evaporates. Because of this property, doctors usually prescribe creams when the goal is rapid absorption of the medicine,” Konno explained.
According to the doctor, finding the right base cream also depends on the area in which it is used. “If you have dry skin, ointment is more suitable. Creams are suitable for a larger skin surface. At the same time, there is a risk that substances contained in creams become contact allergens and cause new problems. For example, contact may cause an allergy,” Konno added.
But maybe I grease my hands too much and in the end they can’t handle themselves?
“In our daily practice we don’t really encounter many hand products. Basically, after each wash a new protective layer should be applied to the skin, because disinfectants destroy the protective layer of the skin quite powerfully,” Konno said.
Rather, the doctor considers choosing the wrong product when he gets his hands dirty a risk. For example, emulsions with high water content are absorbed faster, but they also evaporate faster. It removes moisture from the skin and promotes drying of the skin instead of hydrating it.
“We found an excessive consumption of creams not on the hands, but on the face. In the areas where the sebaceous glands are more active. The skin of the face is generally healed more quickly. In this area it may happen that an excessive use of cosmetics causes a disturbance of the skin balance, the proliferation of lice and acne when using the oils,” Konno said.
The stratum corneum of the epidermis protects the body from physical and chemical irritants and infections, but when outside temperatures drop in winter and indoor air dries out from heating systems, the skin itself may need protection. Author/source: Siim Lõvi/ERR
2024-01-10 09:08:00
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