What causes dry and itchy skin?

Many people sometimes feel that their skin is dry and itchy, especially at night, they always can't fall asleep because of the itching. Therefore, dry and itchy skin will affect our work and rest. As for dry and itchy skin, many people don’t know why their skin is dry and itchy. Let’s take a look at it now.

The climate is cold in autumn and winter, and it is difficult for sebaceous gland secretions to be discharged to the body surface. Scientific tests show that the melting point of fat secreted by the human body's sebaceous glands is around 30 degrees Celsius. In the cold season, the skin fat almost solidifies into a solid state, so it is more difficult to excrete, which makes people's skin drier more obviously in winter. Especially for the elderly, as their metabolic function gradually declines with age, the sebaceous glands become disordered due to the reduction of endocrine, so the skin becomes dry and itchy. Moreover, the activity of the skin's sweat glands is significantly reduced compared to young and middle-aged people, and the amount of sweat discharged is reduced, causing the skin surface to lack moisture. In the winter when the air is relatively dry, the skin will of course be drier and more prone to itching.

First, we need to find the cause: there are many causes of itching, which are very complicated and require patience to eliminate the causes. Simply put, it can be divided into:

Internal causes: Skin itching caused by changes inside the body. Neuropsychiatric factors, conditioned reflexes, physical diseases (such as hepatobiliary diseases, uremia, diabetes, arteriosclerosis, neurosis, etc.), metabolic abnormalities, endocrine disorders, tumor metabolites, drugs, food allergies, lesions in the body, etc.

External factors: objects that come into contact with the outside of the body, including changes in temperature, substances in the air, harmful gases, particulate matter, bacteria, viruses, insects, animal fur, clothing that comes into contact with the body, bedding, toiletries, cosmetics, and various parts of plants. Objects that may be touched during work and labor, as well as bad living and hygiene habits may all be causes of itching.

Spring itching

There are many reasons for skin itching, among which metabolic disorders and endocrine abnormalities are one of the important causes of skin itching. Many diseases can cause itchy skin manifestations by changing the normal metabolism of the human body. The elderly have atrophic skin, less sweat, lack of sebum nourishment, skin blood circulation disorders, nutritional deficiencies, and are easily stimulated by changes in temperature in the surrounding environment, inducing itching, which is called senile skin pruritus. Senile skin pruritus is mostly caused by blood deficiency and liver hyperactivity, which generates wind and dryness, and the skin is malnourished.

Pruritus is a conscious and complex symptom that occurs on the skin and causes scratching. The cause of it is relatively complicated, and the causative factors include internal or external factors.

Internal factors often lead to systemic pruritus:

Visceral diseases: Functional or organic diseases of the stomach, intestines, liver, kidneys and other internal organs, especially patients with diabetes, uremia, and liver disease, often feel generalized itching; patients with certain tumors such as leukemia, lymphosarcoma, Hodgkin's disease, mycosis fungoides, and malignant lymphoma experience skin itching.

External causes of skin itching:

It can cause generalized or localized itching. Temperature changes often cause itching of the skin. Patients with spring pruritus and summer pruritus are extremely sensitive to climate changes. Too hot bedding or sudden heat or cold may cause itching attacks.

Through the introduction of the causes of skin itching, I believe everyone understands that only by thoroughly understanding the causes can we better prevent the occurrence of pruritus. Prevention is the key.

From the above introduction, we can see the reasons for dry and itchy skin on our body. We have a clear understanding of the causes of skin itching, which is beneficial to our skin itching. I hope it can help everyone.