Very dry skin

[Mark_Ometal]

Hello,

I have type one diabetes and my skin on my face, arms & back is extremely dry. Prone to peeling alot, can you advise?

[Dr Sharon Wong]

Hello,

For dry skin there are a number of tips relating to general skincare which you many find useful.

Firstly avoid soaps and showergels. Any prodict which foams or lathers, by nature will contain a surfactant. Surfactants de-grease surfaces, which is not desired if you have dry skin. You should try using cream/emollient washes (E45, Aveeno, Dermol lotion are examples which can all be used in this manner) which will clean the skin surface without leaving it dry.
Secondly emollients are absolutely key.There are many good quality emollients available OTC designed for dry, sensitive and eczema-prone skin. In addition to Aveeno, Epaderm, Cetraben, Doublebase and other examples. Some emollients also contain keratolytic ingredients such as urea to help reduce the amount of scaling eg Eucerin, Calmurid, Lipikar Baume.
Finally if taking a bath, do not use bubble bath (for the same reason as the first point). Adding bath oils eg Aveeno, Oilatum can help make the water more moisturising. Bathing in plain water is actually drying on the skin.

I hope this helps,

BW

Sharon