When our skin is sensitive and dry, it gets “cracked.” There are many causes of skin cracking. Factors such as genes, allergies, (unhealthy) diet, and even over exposure to sun can lead to this skin condition.
What worsen skin cracking even further are skin irritants that aggravate the condition of our already weak skin structure.
These irritants include artificial clothing, cold or low temperatures, and of course the chemical components of our hair and skin care products.
Other skin diseases like rosacea, psoriasis, rashes, dermatitis, and eczema are likewise bad news for our weakened skin structure.
What is Eczema?
Did you know that, of the world’s population, between 10 to 20% have eczema. This skin disease is manifested in dry, scaly, and itchy skin. Eczema can be exceedingly painful and extremely itchy, so much so that those who suffer from it have the strong urge to scratch areas affected with this disease. In worst cases, the skin will be have pus-filled pustules that tend to open and secrete pus, which can cause permanent skin damage.
How You Can Get Eczema Through Physical Activities?
When one thinks of eczema, it would barely cross his mind that it can be caused by exercise or sports. However, experts discovered that one of the factors that can trigger eczema is sweating. This does not apply to all people, but for a select few, eczema can result from sweating. As we all know, sweating is our body’s natural reaction to high temperatures. Our body excretes sweat in order to lower its temperature. It is perfectly natural and healthy to sweat; however, since it is salty it does dehydrate our skin and, as a result, causes eczema.
Besides our sweat itself, other factors also worsen our tendency to have eczema. These are:
- Sports t-shirts. These are made of synthetic materials which aggravates sweating.
- Taking hot showers. This is a no-brainer. Hot water causes our skin to dry even more.
- Chemicals in our hair and skin care products. Again, these cause our skin to dry.
- Taking a dip in swimming pools. Swimming pools contain chlorine, which is known to worsen skin irritation.
- Using locker rooms. It’s best to stay away from locker rooms, as these microorganisms thrive here. These microorganisms are known to trigger infection in our weak skin structure.
- Failing to care for our skin. Lack and excessive showering also damage our skin.
Addressing Your Eczema Problem
For active individuals, there are eczema treatment methods that you can follow to address your skin problems. The key to eczema treatment is to target the cause of dry skin, thus, you are advised to:
- Lessen the frequency of your sports activity, as well as to tone down on the intensity of each activity.
- Choose sports or physical activities that do not cause you to sweat too much.
- Do your workout or sports in places which are well-ventilated. Better yet, if you can, do it outdoors under the shade of the trees.
- Go natural. Just about every skin care expert would advice that using natural skin care products is one of the top methods of eczema treatment. Trust the experts. If you want to pursue an active lifestyle, this going natural is a must. There are excellent and natural products which relieve dry skin, including rose hip oil.
