Does drinking more water really prevent dry skin in winter?

New Delhi: During every winter season, there is an increase in patients visiting clinics complaining about dry, itching, flaky, and tight skin. Low temperatures, dry air, and exposure to heaters create an ideal environment for a condition known as winter xerosis. Winter xerosis is a condition that develops due to excessive moisture loss in the outermost skin surface.

Dr. Nisha Parikh, Dermatologist, Inamdar Hospital, Pune, said, "One commonly believed notion is that consuming more water can aid in preventing and even curing dry skin in the winter season. Of course, it has been acknowledged that hydration plays an important role in our health. However, a relevant question comes to mind here: Does it really help in preventing dry skin in the winter season?"

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The expert went on to talk about how drinking water can affect skin health in winter. The skin also serves as a protective barrier that guards the body against environmental injury. During winter, the skin is under constant strain as a protective barrier. The low moisture levels in the atmosphere decrease the water content in the air, thereby causing an increase in the rate of transepithelial water loss, which is the rate at which water tries to escape from the surface of the skin through evaporation. The use of heating further reduces the water content in the atmosphere and depletes the skin’s barrier, which helps to preserve water by preventing its escape. This causes the skin to become rough, itchy, sensitive, and easily irritated.

However, for those people who get their required water intake level on a daily basis, there are no benefits in consuming excessive water, since it cannot prevent or even enhance skin dehydration. The reason for this is that the skin does not get hydration benefits from consuming water since the body gets priorities in hydrating organs before finally hydrating the skin. Essentially, drinking water is beneficial in addressing dehydration, not in repairing a compromised skin barrier.

Dry winter skin is a problem of the skin’s barrier function rather than a simple hydration issue. So, although the body might have adequate hydration levels, the skin is still drying out because the hydrophobic or lipophilic barrier might be breached. This would explain why people who drink plenty of liquids during the winter are often afflicted by dry, itchy hands and legs as well as flaky skin.

Nevertheless, staying hydrated can be helpful in other situations. During the winter season, people tend to feel the urge to drink water less. This will cause people to be mildly dehydrated because of the low water intake. Staying hydrated will help hydrate the body and the skin because of the increase in the flow of fluids within the body. Although staying hydrated will not help much with dry skin, staying hydrated is helpful in hydrating the skin.

The management of dry skin during winter, medically known as dermatological care, involves protecting and restoring the integrity of the skin barrier. The measures involved include the consistent use of moisturizers with the ability to attract and retain moisture, gentle skin cleansing, avoidance of hot showers, and application of moisturizer to the skin after bathing. Additionally, optimal indoor humidity and a well-balanced skin-health-promoting diet are also paramount and make a significant impact.

Drinking water is necessary for good health and may help to hydrate the skin in people who are dehydrated. Drinking water, however, will not help to preserve the skin in the winter months. Taking care of the skin in the winter months requires a proper mix of staying hydrated, taking care of the skin barriers, and not allowing the skin to come in contact with adverse environmental conditions. Drinking water helps to stay hydrated, while keeping the moisture in the skin will help to preserve the skin in the winter months.