Dry skin

<What are the characteristics of very dry skin that sometimes feels itchy?>

It suffers from intense, chronic dryness that can sometimes cause itching. This type of cutaneous dryness is common in children: almost 10% of children under the age of 10 are affected in developed countries.

This type of dry skin stems from the permeability of the corneal layer due to a shortage of fats. This abnormality results in the excessive evaporation of the water present in the body on the surface of the skin. The skin no longer performs an effective barrier role, and it no longer protects the body against external attack. Becoming hyperpermeable, the skin allows environmental molecules to penetrate the body. Among these are allergens that can cause inflammation, possibly accompanied by itching. Scratching these may result in lesions that increase the breaches in the skin. The skin then becomes even more permeable to allergens, and an acute inflammatory reaction may well occur.

This type of intense, chronic dryness thus evolves in successive phases of surges and remissions.

Three main types of environmental allergens responsible for acute inflammatory reactions have been identified:

• airborne allergens: acarids, pollens, dog and cat hairs, feathers, ...

• food allergens,

• contact allergens: nickel, perfumes, ...