Prep your skin for monsoon

Dr Vikas Sharma

With the changing weather, one also has to change the skin care routine. While the rains bring a welcome respite from summer heat, they also pose a lot of challenges to healthy skin. The heat-induced rash of summer-time gives way to the humidity-induced problems of the rainy season. However, if you are health-conscious and take a few simple precautions, you can save yourself a lot of misery over bad skin. So it is important to change the skin care regimen with the change in weather.

The damp and humid weather of rainy season takes a heavy toll on the skin — no matter what the skin type is. Pollution, dirt, and overgrowth of micro-flora are the main reasons why skin is prone to damage during the rainy season. The rainy season is the time when due to the high humidity in the air there are various infectious bacteria, fungi and viruses which become active and this leads to skin infections. The few chronic skin disorders like atopic eczema, acne, psoriasis tend to worsen in this season.

The biggest skin complaint during the monsoon is the fungal infection. A fungus thrives in humidity — wet skin folds rubbing against each other get macerated easily, providing easy entry to fungi and yeast. As a result, one develops itchy, circular, reddish, flaky patches on the body, especially in skin folds at the groin (jock itch), underarms and around the breast in women.

Fungal infections can also affect your feet. People walking bare feet over wet floors in this season are the most prone to catch fungal infection. Toe nails then can easily get infected from the adjoining infected skin of the feet and when infected it takes 1-2 years of regular medication for the complete healing. Staying dry is the best way to avoid them. Always keep an extra set of dry clothes and footwear while travelling and change immediately if you’ve gotten drenched on your way.

Once you are seated at your desk, take your shoes and socks off to allow air circulation around your off for few minutes at least once a day.

Sickly, dull, oily-looking skin is common during the rainy season. Nondescript itching also occurs occasionally. Monsoon is the time where your skin behaves a bit strange and is usually unstable; suddenly it’s gets oily or become dry and dehydrated. Rain is the time when we mistake the high humidity around for excessive moisture in the skin, which is not true. The moisture in the air does not transform into the moisture into the skin and hence skin commonly suffers from dehydration.

(Dr Sharma is a Chandigarh-based dermatologist)