On your list of health priorities, skin care likely isn’t one of the top three. Who has time to worry about dry skin when your blood pressure and cholesterol are high, and the number of hours you sleep is dropping?
But taking care of your skin is important, particularly as you get older. Your skin produces less protective oil as you age, which increases the risk for dry, itchy skin that cracks and tears easily. In addition to being painful, dry skin is vulnerable to infections. Cracked, torn skin is vulnerable to viruses that cause warts and other illnesses.
Skin care is particularly important for people with a medical condition such as diabetes. For these individuals, poor skin care can quickly lead to severe problems. Because people with diabetes have decreased skin sensitivity, they can easily injure their feet or hands. Even minor injuries such as a slight sunburn can trigger major infections that could require amputation. Other common diabetes skin concerns include styes on the eyelids, and boils, which are infections of the hair follicles.
Serious Skin Care
Whether or not you have health concerns like diabetes, maintaining healthy skin is simple, and the following basic precautions are good ideas for anyone:
Stay cool. Hot baths and showers dry the skin, so bathe in lukewarm, not hot, water.
Soak, don’t shower. That’s right, baths are better for your skin than showers. When you shower, the force of water removes your skin’s protective oils more quickly than when you bathe. Limiting showers is difficult on the road, so just watch the water temperature.
Get in, get out. Although there is debate over how long is too long to bathe or shower, the best advice is to get in, get clean and get out.
