Skin Care for Seniors
With aging come many changes. Your skin is no exception. From common itches and dryness, to more serious bruising and pressure ulcers, senior skin is especially susceptible to problems. While any serious symptoms should always be referred to your physical, there are some simple, everyday solutions that can help with many of the issues that senior skin faces.
Keep Skin Moist
As people age, their skin becomes thinner and less capable of retaining water. This, combined with the gradual loss of sweat and oil glands that help keep skin moist, often causes rough or dry patches to appear at the elbows, lower legs, and arms. Not only is this uncomfortable, it can result in cuts or tears that may become infected. While moisturizer provides a great short-term solution for immediate discomfort, the best way to prevent future problems is to drink plenty of water. Avoiding caffeinated or carbonated beverages – yes, even seltzer water – is also helpful, since they have a mild dehydrating effect.
Avoid Sun and Heat
This one seems like a no-brainer, but prolonged exposure to sun leads to dryness, liver spots, pronounced wrinkles, and even cancer. Sunscreen is your first and best defense – although it never hurts to wear a hat if you’re going to be outside for a long time. But even indoors can be tough on skin. Turning your heat high during winter or having dry air in the home are well-known causes of discomfort; do your best to counteract these with humidifiers, moisturizers, and a consistent room temperature.
Take Care of Other Health Issues
It isn’t just the environment that creates problems for skin. Sometimes, it’s something internal. If you are taking the necessary steps to prevent skin problems but are still having significant issues, it could be the sign of another problem. Skin cancer is the best known, but other ailments such as kidney disease and diabetes often cause dryness. Medications meant to treat these or other diseases may also result in skin irritation, thinning of skin membranes, peeling, or even bruising. Chronic discomfort should always be brought to the attention of your physician.
Stress
Stress is everywhere, and it affects everything, including your body. Unfortunately, you can’t eliminate stress from your life altogether, and taking a nice vacation isn’t always an option. It’s not unusual to neglect to take care of yourself during times of stress, but remember that this can in turn lead to more problems down the road. Don’t skip meals or sleep, don’t isolate yourself, and don’t give up things you love; all these might seem like things you can cut out to make room in your life, but chances are they’ll only cause more distress – for you and your skin.
Showers
Everyone likes a hot shower…except your skin. Taking lengthy showers in hot water or showering too often can actually cause the same symptoms as a sunburn: itching, peeling, redness, dryness, inflammation, and pain. Prolonged heat exposure, even in water, strips natural oils, fats, and proteins that maintain skin health. If you can’t stand to take a cold shower, do your best to limit the length of time you spend in the heat. Unless you have no other choice, it’s also a good idea to avoid washing your hair every day; try every other day or a few times a week to avoid over-stripping your scalp and causing dandruff.
Laundry
Even if you aren’t allergic to specific materials, the clothes, sheets, and other linens in your home can still cause skin problems. Certain skin conditions are exacerbated by synthetic fabrics, and rough, cheap materials can result in chafing and irritation. While it can be difficult or expensive to avoid synthetics in your life entirely, you can limit skin issues by sticking to lighter fabrics that breathe. It’s also best to use skin-safe laundry detergent and avoid perfumed fabric softeners.
Yes, your skin will change with age; and yes, you may have to change a few things with it. But making the effort to be conscious of things that might affect it can prove enormously helpful. Be sure to check your skin regularly, and always consult with your doctor if you find anything that worries you.
Sources: https://www.oakstreethealth.com/skin-health-tips-for-seniors-720392
https://www.nia.nih.gov/health/skin-care-and-aging
Image by Martin Slavoljubovski from Pixabay