UAE: Itchy during winters? Breakouts, dry skin conditions on the rise
In the UAE, with the winter season here and low temperatures causing the symptoms of skin inflammation and dry skin among the patients. That’s because the atmospheric pressure and wind direction are changing rapidly and forcing the weather to change.
Mahmoud Wahdan, aged nine, had been complaining of tight and flaky skin that wouldn’t feel good no matter how many lotions and creams his parents applied. It wasn’t merely the scabiness — Mahmoud’s face was red, scabby and numb, especially at night when he went to bed.
Burning sensation
He’d scratch his skin and try to extinguish the burning sensation but it just sucked.
"It’s been weeks of symptoms, they seem to be going on," his mother Mariam said. ‘I was seeing the dry patches on Mahmoud’s skin for a long time and scratching constantly was just getting worse. The physician squinted at Mahmoud’s skin and noticed the swollen, red and dry patches on his arms and legs. He had Atopic dermatitis, the physician informed me, "a skin disease that is apparently a permanent one, usually during the winters and the dry months."
Moosa, a seven-year-old Maldivian expat, also had dry and itchy arms from an early age, and the condition got worse every winter. ‘I have seasonal allergies, but we don’t have a great medical record. I began to notice scaly, flaky, areas on Moosa’s body. I got really worried. The doctor assured me that there was no infection which was a great relief as it wasn’t a severe issue. I’d only just been really wet. My son didn’t take moisturisers after he washed them, which I heard you have to do during these months," his mother Haniya told me.
Causes, care and remedy
In the meantime, doctors explained that acne worsens in winter in the UAE for a variety of reasons.
‘Skin breakouts in Dubai are increased in the winter season, because of environmental and behavioural factors,’ said Dr Shahrzad Mojtabavi Naeini, GP Aesthetics, International Modern Hospital Dubai. The first is the fact that the lack of humidity in winter dries out the skin and results in overproduction of oil, which will also block pores. Dust gets piled on by the seasons and dry weather, which makes it worse for acne-prone and fragile skin. What’s more, hot showers in the winter rob the skin of its oils, which makes the skin still dry and itchy."
Health workers stressed that hydration (through a loss of water intake during the cold months) leads to skin dryness.
‘In these months, we see a greater number of patients who come in with atopic dermatitis, eczema, dryness, acne and sensitivity as compared to summer,’ Naeini continued. Healthcare professionals also mentioned that colder air can strip a great deal of the skin’s natural oils, leaving it dry and itchy.
"The skin compensates by producing too much oil which blocks pores and leads to acne," said Dr Haider Ali, family medicine, Saudi German Hospital Dubai. The less sunlight we get in the winter, the less Vitamin D we have to keep skin function and inflammation hydrated. If your skin isn’t getting enough Vitamin D, it will become more irritated and susceptible to breakouts."
‘Ritualize emollient and moisturiser use, humidifiers to keep moisture levels at bay’, he continued. Skin is important. Soak with mild soaps and water not too hot – soft cleaners and cold showers. We also have to put sunscreen on in the winter.
The doctor also suggested altering their diet by eating high-octane 3 fatty acids and drinking plenty of water. Patients should receive individual medical treatment as per the recommendation of their family doctor or dermatologist.
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