I published this blog for The Itch to Best Psoriasis on Everyday Health in January this year. This reprint has a few update modifications. Great reminders for myself as I ward off rashes and try to control the dryness that heating causes in the winter cold.
Every winter, I sense the need to adjust how I care for my skin. Freezing cold night temperatures give way to cold, shortened days. My wife likes to turn up the heater, as do my workplace and the stores I frequent. I enjoy a hot shower too. But I know that my psoriasis and eczema don’t necessarily take well to dry, heated air and long, hot showers.
It could be the stress of the holidays, it might be because my medications have lost their effectiveness, or it could just be winter. Whatever the cause, I’m needing to take extra measures to make sure my skin is well managed and cared for.
When I visited my dermatologist, Dr. Emanual Maverakis of the University of California, Davis Health System last year, I wondered what winter skincare tips he and his resident Dr. Tatyana Petukhova might have for those of us living with psoriasis and eczema.
My years of experience have helped me develop ways to manage any inevitable winter flare-ups. Here are my five recommendations with a few of my doctors’ thoughts peppered in.
1. Be Sure to Moisturize and Humidify
Without a doubt, this tip to moisturize is the one my dermatologists recommended first. Dr. Maverakis noted that using heaters in the winter dries out the skin, so more moisturizing is needed. That’s my experience as well.
I took a couple of climatology classes in college. One professor used the analogy of two different-sized buckets to explain relative humidity. If you have a small bucket, and it’s 80 percent full of water, then you would say it’s quite full. But if you put that same amount of water in a big bucket, it might only be 20 percent full.
Cold air is like the small bucket, and hot air is like the large bucket. When cold air is heated up, as it often is indoors in the winter, the relative humidity drops. Unless water is added back into the air, such as with a humidifier, the dry air will dry out your skin.
Dry skin will easily become itchy and irritated. In the winter, it seems to dry out even faster than usual.
I’ve noticed my skin is like a hygrometer, a device that measures humidity. I can tell when my skin is dry and needs more moisturizer. Plus, dry skin will easily become itchy and irritated. In the winter, it seems to dry out even faster than usual.
When moisturizing, I start with a layer of a lotion with ceramides (mainly for eczema) to add moisture, then lock in the moisture with a thicker, petroleum-based cream. If I am moisturizing after a bath or shower, I moisturize within a couple of minutes of getting out to trap the moisture in my skin. It took me some time experimenting with different moisturizers, and talking with my doctors, before I settled on a regimen that works for me.
Finding the Right Moisturizer for Psoriasis & Eczema
Having a humidifier in the living room, bedroom, and the office helps too — especially during those cold and dry times. Dr. Petukhova also recommended using humidifiers, noting the need to “clean them regularly” and use a humidity level “that feels comfortable.”
2. Avoid Long Hot Baths or Showers
Simply put, hot water dries out your skin, and that’s generally not good for psoriasis or eczema. My dermatologists noted this tip as second important after moisturizing. But I confess I like to bathe in hot water in the winter. When it’s cold outside, or even cool, doesn’t everyone enjoy a hot shower or bath? After seeing Dr. Maverakis, I turned back the temperature of my shower and cut down the time.
I also will take 10- to 15-minute soothing baths. I sprinkle an over-the-counter oatmeal bath packet into the water as the bath is being drawn, then I add some moisturizing oil. When I get out of the tub, I put on extra layers of moisturizer. This system seems to be working well so far, but it’s hard to give up the hot water.
PsoHoward 