Having persistently dry itchy skin might not sound like a serious condition – until you experience it yourself. That is when you comprehend how frustrating it can be to have your sleep perpetually disturbed by the need to wake up and scratch. That is also when you comprehend the humiliation of having to scratch yourself while in an important meeting with a client at the office – seeing that scratching in in front of others is generally frowned upon, and sometimes even taken as a sign of poor personal hygiene.

Almost everyone in temperate areas experience some amount of dryness and itchiness on their skin during the cold winter period. This is because low humidity – which is the typical condition during the cold winter season – is one of the primary a causes of dry itchy skin. This type of skin dryness and itchiness is usually considered quite normal, is normally mild, and dissapates as the air moisture levels improve with the end of winter. If the skin dryness and itchiness caused by winter conditions is really disturbing, then installing a humidifier in the home can be a terrific remedy.

Another normal cause of dry itchy skin is continued use of extraordinarily hot water for bathing and other poor skin care habits, which in turn block the skin’s natural moisturizing mechanisms, causing skin dryness and ultimately itchiness. The cure for these is simply opting for better skin care practices – like taking cooler baths, and then giving the body time to repair the damage that was done by the previous inadequate skin care practices. You can improve this healing process with the use of the assorted natural skin remedies.

Yet another cause of dry itchy skin, which is known to be more serious and that necessitates some sort of medical attention, is that caused by an underlying medical condition. Some of the medical conditions that are characterized by dry itchy skin include eczema, psoriasis, and scabies. If for example the dryness and itchiness in the skin is in combination with other symptoms like swelling, oozing or bleeding, it could be a signal that one is suffering from eczema. There are both natural and synthetic therapies for these conditions, if they happen to be the causes for the skin becoming itch and dry.

Likewise dry itchy skin may also be caused by an even more severe underlying condition like diabetes, liver problems or hormonal problems – and these call for specialized medical attention as a matter of urgency. And if the symptoms are chronic, and persists even after the best effort at moisturizing, it could be that it is actually a result of such underlying conditions. In this case once the underlying condition is resolved, then the skin dryness and itchiness should also vanish.

Erica Polaris is a prolific researcher and writer of skin care health and natural health products. She shares her research on dry itchy skin at her website which includes great tips and recommendations.

- Erica Polaris