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Answer to Puzzler #42

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The Scenario:

With winter coming on and temperatures dropping, the old furnace began to burn more frequently, providing plenty of warmth for Jack's otherwise drafty house. The heat made him happy, but the dryness that came with it always bothered him. In previous years, he would often wake up in mid-winter with his nose and mouth feeling dry and congested. But his skin bore the worst of it, becoming increasingly dry and irritated every year as the winter wore on.

This year, for some reason, his skin was worse than ever. His arms, legs, and back were forever dry and flaking; he often found himself scratching his skin, which just seemed to make the situation worse. He showered every day, using a good deodorant soap, and tried some skin creams, but to no avail. Finally, his skin got so that his knuckles were cracked, red, and irritated. He began to feel like a reptile.

Question:

What are some things he could do to treat or prevent his dry skin?

Answer:

Most of us are aware that winter air is drier than the soft humid air of summer. But what is the reason for this?

It turns out that there is a very simple physical explanation. The amount of humidity (or water) that air can hold depends on the temperature of the air. The hotter the temperature, the more water may be held in suspension in the air. The colder the temperature, the less water can be held. It's that simple.

Then, when you take a lot of cold dry air and bring it indoors and heat it, the air expands, effectively lowering the concentration of the residual moisture. The net effect is even drier air. That's why one of the recommendations is not to keep the house quite so warm.

What's a pachyderm to do? For starters, Jack will feel a whole lot better if he installs a powerful humidifier. It works well, though I'm told that without sufficient moisture barriers in the walls of your house, the paint may begin to lift off. More likely, you will simply have to clean the humidifier every week or so to prevent the buildup of molds and mildews, which you really don't want to spew around the house.

What else can be done? The overall goal is to hold as much moisture in the skin as possible. Vigorous rubbing of the skin; exposure of unprotected skin to cold winds; long, hot baths; and strong detergent soaps will all pull both water and oils out of the skin. Once that happens, industrial quantities of moisturizing creams or lotions are called for. The most popular ones our Puzzlers recommended include Alpha-Keri lotion, Nivea, Aveeno, Erno Laszlo, and Neutrogena Emulsion. Applying them immediately after bathing and drying off will hold in more of the moisture. In general, creams that contain the highest levels of petrolatum, mineral oil, or ammonium lactate, are the best moisturizers available. For some people, the greasiness of petroleum is unpleasant, but worth it.

Other recommendations include bathing less frequently, and only using soap on critical areas. Choosing soaps that are mild and have moisturizers in them will also help.