What Is Winter Rash? Causes, Symptoms, Risk Factors And Treatments

Winters can be harsh for the skin in many ways. The cold temperature and air during the season can reduce the moisture on the skin and make it dry. Winter rash is a skin condition that mainly occurs during the winter season, the time when the temperature drops low, thus causing the skin to get dry and irritated and resulting in a lot of complications. Also, no matter how good your skin is for the rest of the year, winter rash can appear on any skin type.
Our skin has many functions such as regulating the body temperature, protecting against pathogens and maintaining the hydration of the skin. When the skin gets dry for a long time, the execution of these tasks is impaired. Drying of the skin depends on many factors and colder temperature is one of them. Our skin naturally contains oil that helps keep it moisturised. But during the winters, the cold temperature causes the skin moisture to evaporate, leaving the skin cells dry and causing skin rash due to itching.
Some of the other causes of winter rash include:
1. Overuse of harsh soaps.
2.Stress.
3.Infections.
4. Reaction due to medicines.
5.Sunburns
6.Excessive bathing with hot water.
7.Excessive use of room heaters.
8.Latex allergy
Apart from dryness of the skin, other symptoms of winter rash include:

1.Rough skin
2.Scaly patches on the skin.
3.Itching of the skin
4.General discomfort
5.Stinging of the skin.
6.Superficial cracking of the skin.
7.Increased susceptibility of aged skin

Winter rash is mainly diagnosed by a physical examination of the symptoms by a medical expert. They may ask for the medical history of the patients to identify the underlying disease causing skin rashes. Doctors may suggest skin patch testing, a skin biopsy or genetic testing to rule out other possible skin conditions. Winter rash can be limited to a small area or may affect the entire body. Consult a medical expert if the rashes get worse with time in spite of using moisturiser or home remedies.