Is it just that time of year for dry itchy skin or do you suffer from dry itchy skin year round? Chronic dry itchy skin issues may be a sign of something you may not be aware of. Here are a couple things that are not often considered.
1. Low Thyroid or low functioning thyroid – When someone wants to discuss their dry itchy skin, the first question I usually ask is “are you taking a thyroid medication?” A low thyroid hormone can decrease the blood flow to the arms and legs and to the surface of the skin. The elongation of dietary fatty acids into oils preferred by the skin to maintain moisture requires optimal function of thyroid hormone. I guess this is another advantage for taking Fish Oils (Omega 3’s). For more on Fish oils and dry itchy skin go to www.omega-research.com.
One issue that I will try to cover in a future post is that of low functioning thyroid. This is when the level of thyroid in the blood is normal but you have many, if not all the symptoms of low thyroid. So often I hear patients discuss their symptoms and when I ask if they have had their thyroid checked they answer “yea, my doctor says it’s not my thyroid”.
So next time you have your blood drawn, ask your doctor or nurse if you could have a full thyroid panel. Whether or not you have thyroid problems, it would be nice to see how the thyroid is functioning. I would like to see a Total T4, Free T3, Free T4, Reverse T3, TSH, Thyroglobulin, and TPO. If you are not planning on seeing the doctor anytime soon and would like to have your thyroid checked, let me know and I can send you one of our test kits. For more information on the test kits go to www.zrtlab.com.
2. Low Vitamin D
Vitamin D is one of my favorite vitamins to recommend. I find that most of us are deficient even though you can get it from the sun’s exposure to your skin. Isn’t that an incredible feature that God has given us? It is these little things that make me wonder how someone can believe we came from a ball of goo. But that is another story I’ll leave for the discussion section.
Being able to make a necessary nutrient just by getting some sunshine is one of the reasons I find this vitamin so interesting. Several colleagues have discussed with time lately that
So to get back into focus, how does Vitamin D affect dry or itchy skin? Here is what I have learned.
Evidence shows lower vitamin D levels are found in patients that suffer from dry itchy skin. There is extensive research that has shown a relationship between Vitamin D and Eczema. Eczema is a chronic dry itchy skin condition. Apparently Vitamin D helps in suppressing the inflammation process that causes dry itchy skin. For more information on vitamin D, I always head over to www.vitamindcouncil.org.
What you can do, is have your Vitamin D level checked. A normal range for Vitamin D is between 30 and 80. I am always hoping to see a level above 50 but below 100. The research shows that this will provide maximum benefit. Since this is not on the standard blood test, you will have to request this test the next time you are at your doctor’s office. We also have a kit that can test for vitamin D if you are not going to your doctor anytime soon.
If you have any questions on these ideas to help your dry itchy skin just leave me a comment below or send me a message jregel@regelpharmalab.com