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Article: Dry skin: common causes, effective treatments: ruling out systemic causes is the first step to diagnosing xerosis, and patient education is the key to management. The good news is that dry skin can usually be managed effectively and inexpensively.
- Article from:
- JAAPA-Journal of the American Academy of Physicians Assistants
- Article date:
- September 1, 2004
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2004 Haymarket Media, Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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During the winter, dry skin, or xerosis, occurs in more than 75% of persons who live north of the 37th parallel in the United States (roughly the northern half of the country). (1) Dry skin is more common among those who have Fitzpatrick skin type I or II (pale skin), those who work in a low-humidity environment (for example, pilots and flight attendants), health care and restaurant workers who are required to wash their hands frequently, infants, and the elderly.
Although patients rarely present with a chief complaint of dry skin, xerosis is a pervasive disorder that warrants evaluation for an underlying illness. Xerosis itself is a diagnosis of exclusion. ...