Dehydration ..... not to be ignored

People often get confused between dryness and dehydration ...... where dryness is lack of oil on the skin, dehydration is lack of moisture in the skin.

Skin dehydration can be a problem all year round...but in summers and in extreme winters this condition should be seriously taken care of.

Your skin is more susceptible to dehydration in the summers and winters due to aggressive environmental factors.

Age, location and amount to time spent outside are all factors that can impact the condition of your skin.

Symptoms of Dehydrated Skin 

Symptoms of dehydrated skin is similar to that of sunburn. The skin can feel tight and you may feel a burning sensation. It will often get irritated and has a lesser ability to heal. The skin sometimes gets flaky and shows dry lines. The texures of the skin will be rough and will not be smooth anymore. A very common sign of dehydration is itching, itching get worse as condition of skin get worse.... which can even become painful.

Redness is another common symptom of dehydrated skin, it is often misunderstood as redness due to extreme weather.

What is happening

As you age, your cells will be replaced by cells containing less water, which affects how you look.

A new born is about 80% water where as an older person is 70% water and an elderly person with visible wrinkles is somewhat 50% water.

In some people water content of body reduces, either due to external conditions such as pollution, time spent outside, extreme weather conditions, too much time spent in AC rooms or due to internal conditions.

Causes

- Poor cleansing: Any cleanser leaving the skin taut is dehydrating. Soap is harsh because it is alkaline, 

  stripping the water from the upper surface of skin that is the epidermis and leaving it exposed, unprotected 

  and subject to moisture loss. Other alkaline washes, such as foaming cleansers and alcohol solutions used 

  for oily and problem skin, are even worse since they produce clogging which ultimately becomes 

  blackheads and possible pustules.

- Skin damage: This may result from using harsh acne treatments like hydrogen peroxide, retinoic acid etc.

  These substances alter the keratinisation process ( the skin renewal process ) and weakens the ability of the 

  cells to bond together. 

- Neglect: This covers a wide area, from failure to drink sufficient amounts of fluids to applying protective 

  creams on a regular basis.

- Medication and illness: Certain illnesses may cause internal dehydration and ultimately affects the skin.

  Where some medicines dehydrates skin temporarily as a side effect, some medicines does this on 

  permanent basis.

- Scrubs: The regular use of scrubs can break down cell bonding in certain skin types, which reduces the

  capacity to retain moisture. More over your skin does not require daily scrubbing, once or at max twice a 

  week is more than enough. 

- Air conditioning and climate: Moisture evaporates quickly within the dry atmosphere of air conditioned  

  rooms. Similarly moisture evaporates in very hot and cold climates.

- Hot showers: The friction and heat of the hot water remove moisture from the skin's surface, inviting it's

  damage and dehydration. Always wash the face separately using lukewarm water only.

- Diet: An excessive intake if table salt can have a dehydrating effect, so does excessive intake of coffee.

  And the biggest culprit of all is alcohol.

PSORIASIS

Psoriasis is an extreme chronic condition. This sometimes develops when dehydrated skin has a buildup of rough, dry skin, which turns into severely scaly skin. Contact a physician or a dermatologist for the best course of treatment.

Treatment

Treatments vary based on severity and on individuals.

Results are achievable when treating a dehydrated skin externally, but long-term effective results can only be achieved when internal and external treatments are combined.

Increase:

• Water intake to least two liters of water a day. you know you have had enough when your urine is clear and not yellow.
• Apply serum, it hydrates skin cells from outside and protects skin from outter climatic conditions.
• Exfoliation, but make sure that you do not exfoliate too much otherwise reverse is achieved as discussed above.
• Sun protection, sun exposure dries out the skins natural oils thus using a SPF helps.
• protective creams with a high liquid content are the true protectives. They are chemically similar to the skin's own surface film and only small quantities need to be patted on.

Avoid:

• Alcohol, coffee, sun, salt, too much of air-conditioning. These elements have an extreme negetive effect on skin.
• Use of strong creams without doctor's concern.
• Excessive bleaching.
• Too much exfoliation. 

It is very important to monitor the signs and symptoms regularly to treat it when needed.

So the moral of this whole post that you have just read is do not avoid symptoms of dehydration, tough it may sound stupid and minute but in chronic conditions it can be real pain in the A**. 

For information on oral healthcare do visit My Healthy Speak Blog

few points that might surprise you:

1. One glass of water shuts down midnight hunger.
2. Lack of water is the prime culprit of daytime fatigue.
3. A mere 2% drop in body water can trigger fuzzy short-term memory, trouble with basic math and difficulty focusing on the computer screen or on a printed page.