Every winter you probably prepare your car and home for the cold, dry weather. But do you do the same for your body? If you’re like many people, the answer is “No” — unless you count bringing your warm clothes out of storage.
That’s a mistake, experts say, because when the mercury and humidity levels drop outdoors and your home’s furnace (or radiators) continuously pumps out dry heat, your eyes, nasal passages and skin lose precious moisture. Here’s how winter can cause head-to-toe dryness, followed by advice on how to weatherproof your body.
Dry Eyes
“Everybody’s eyes get drier as they get older,” says Dr. Marguerite McDonald, a clinical professor of ophthalmology at the NYU Langone Medical Center. But winter’s cold temperatures and wind, plus the dry heat and low humidity indoors, can aggravate dry eyes. Also, some medications — such as high blood pressure drugs, antihistamines, nasal decongestants, cholesterol-lowering medications, antidepressants, diuretics and he artburn medications — can decrease the ability of the lacrimal glands in the eyes to produce tears. Spending hours staring at computer or TV screens can aggravate dry eyes because “when you’re looking at a digital device, your blink rate goes from 20 times a minute to three times a minute,” McDonald says, which can lead to parched eyes and eyestrain.
[Read: How to Exercise Outside This Winter — and Make it Fun.]
What to do. For mild symptoms, over-the-counter artificial tears, including FreshKote, Blink or Refresh Optive, can help lubricate and protect the eyes. And wearing wraparound shades and a hat with a brim can slow tear evaporation while outside, McDonald says. If artificial tears don’t provide sufficient relief, good next steps are prescription cyclosporine emulsion drops (such as Restasis) or a prescription eye drop called Xiidra (lifitegrast), which gained approval from the Food and Drug Administration in 2016 for the treatment of dry eye disease. At night, it also helps to use a bland, sterile OTC ointment in your eyes, such as Refresh P.M., Bausch + Lomb Soothe or GenTeal PM. Simply pull down your lower lid and squeeze a 1-inch strip of the ointment into the eye, McDonald advises. “This will drive moisture into the ocular tissues while you sleep, and you’ll wake up with better lubricated eyes,” she adds. Taking omega-3 fatty acid supplements daily may also improve dry eyes.
If severe dry eyes persist after the cold winter gives way to spring, ask your doctor about in-office therapies. These may include the insertion of punctal plugs (to prevent drainage of fluid from the eye) and thermal pulsation therapy (which restores oil production in the eye’s tear film).
[See: 8 Morning and Nighttime Rituals Health Pros Swear By.]
Parched Nasal Passages
During winter, the lower humidity in the air, the cold temperatures outside and the forced heat indoors make it hard for our nasal passages to produce adequate moisture. This can cause mucus in the nose to dry out and thicken, the membranes inside the nose to become more fragile and the nasal lining to crack. These changes “can lead to irritation, bleeding and invasion by germs,” says Dr. Neil Schachter, a professor of medicine at Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York City. “They will also cause nasal congestion or blockage, prevent drainage from sinuses and cause difficulty breathing.”
What to do. Increase the humidity in your home with a humidifier. “Ideal humidification is between 40 and 45 percent, 35 to 40 percent if the person has mold allergies,” says Dr. Michael Benninger, chairman of the Cleveland Clinic’s Head and Neck Institute. “The humidity levels in a heated home in the winter can be well below 20 percent and often below 10 percent. It’s like being in an arid desert.” Even with a whole-house humidifying system, it’s wise to use a small humidifier in your bedroom to keep your nasal passages moist while you sleep, Benninger adds. (But clean it regularly to prevent mold growth.)
An OTC nasal moisturizer, such as Ayr Saline Nasal Gel or a saline spray such as Ocean, can help keep nasal passages lubricated. Performing nasal irrigation (with a saline spray), particularly in the morning, can “help clear dry mucus or crusts from the nose without trauma and temporarily reduce dryness,” Benninger says. When you go out into cold weather, placing a pea-sized amount of a nasal gel inside each nostril can enhance lubrication. It also helps to “wear a large scarf wrapped to cover your nose and create a pocket of [warm, moist] exhaled air from your lungs,” says Schachter, author of “The Good Doctor’s Guide to Colds and Flu.” Drink plenty of fluids, especially warm ones, to keep your air passages moist and well-hydrated — and don’t smoke. Regardless of the weather, Benninger recommends staying active because “exercise temporarily decongests the nose, which helps to clear any thick mucus.”
[Read: How to Prevent Dry Winter Skin.]
Skin Distress
Your skin can become considerably drier than usual during winter, thanks largely to the dry heat inside your home and the cold air and wind outside, says Dr. Barbara Reed, a clinical professor of dermatology at the University of Colorado Hospital in Denver. That’s because cold or dry air basically sucks away the oil that normally traps moisture in the skin, often leading to skin irritation and itchiness, as well as flare-ups of eczema, psoriasis or other chronic skin conditions. Everyone is at risk for dry skin during winter, but the risk increases after age 40 because the skin loses some of its natural barrier function and produces less oil. “Also, when it’s cold out, people tend to spend more time in hot showers or baths — and many people don’t think of putting a moisturizer on their skin when they get out of the bath,” Reed says.
What to do. To protect your skin’s moisture during the winter, use warm, rather than hot, water while bathing, and take shorter showers and baths; you may also want to wash your face with a cleanser just once a day in the evening and simply splash your face with lukewarm water in the morning. Afterward, pat your skin dry with a towel then immediately slather on a substantial cream or lotion to trap water in the upper layers of the skin. “The drier your skin, the thicker the moisturizer should be — use a cream, rather than a thin lotion, something you dip out of a jar twice a day,” Reed advises. Good ingredients to look for include glycerin, ceramides, hyaluronic acid, dimethicone, grapeseed or almond oil, shea butter and lactic acid.
For rough patches on the elbows and knees, dab on some petroleum jelly. If you wash your hands frequently to avoid germs from winter colds and flu, moisturize your hands immediately after. At home, using a humidifier will help maintain moist skin, especially if you apply a hydrating cream to your face and body before sleeping.
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How to Help Your Body Survive Winter Dryness originally appeared on usnews.com
