Have you noticed that your skin sometimes feels irritated and itchy or that you have developed a rash or redness? While there are many causes for skin irritation, we are going to look at some of the factors in your home, environment and health that could be creating the problem.
Dry Skin
You skin may be feeling itchy because it’s simply dry. A lack of hydration causes your skin to crack and dry out, and the itchiness can be your body’s way of telling you that you need to hydrate better. Try drinking more water, running your affected skin under cool water, or using a skin moisturizer. All of these can help provide the hydration your skin needs to feel normal again. For more chronic issues with dry skin that don’t seem to be helped by proper hydration, you should definitely see your doctor.
Contact Allergy
Itchy skin and rashes could be caused by an allergic reaction. If you know what you’re allergic to, then it can be fairly easy to treat the problem and prevent it from occurring as often. If you’re not quite sure what’s causing skin irritation, but it looks like an allergic reaction, then you may need to take some steps to reduce allergens in your home.
You can do that by changing out your air filter, dusting your home, cleaning carpets, and doing other house chores that tidy up your home and remove allergens. Regular, thorough cleaning makes a huge impact on the amount of allergens in your home. For a more thorough cleaning, you may want to try a Phoenix maid company. Professional cleaning can help eliminate allergens better than you might be able to.
For some people, house cleaning causes allergic reactions, skin irritation, and rashes. The cause could be the kind of cleaning chemicals you use as well as dust mites, pest droppings, and other irritants. To prevent these kinds of contact allergies, you should wear protective equipment when you clean or leave the cleaning to someone else. Also try to avoid doing the kinds of chores that cause severe allergic reactions, which for many people are dusting, vacuuming, and sweeping. Someone with a severe dust allergy should never do those kinds of chores, if they can help it.
Bug Bites
Maybe the redness and skin irritation is caused by a bug bite. A lot of bugs will leave behind a small red mark where they have bitten you, but some people have a severe reaction to bug bites. In some instances, the bite can cause swelling, rashes, and widespread skin irritation at the bite location.
Also keep in mind that scratching bug bites can cause your skin to be even more irritated. If you feel like you need to scratch the bites, use a soothing skin treatment like an aloe or something made specifically for bug bites. If the bugs are a continual problem, you should take steps to keep them out of your home by setting traps, closing cracks, and using bug deterrents.
Plant Allergy
Some people have an allergic reaction to a plant. There are a wide range of plants that cause skin irritation and other signs of an allergic reaction. Some of the more common ones include cedar, ash, Timothy grass, and rye grass. You may already be familiar with the kind of skin rash and irritation caused by poison ivy and poison sumac. If those grow in your area, you should try to get rid of them and have skin treatment on hand to deal with any irritation they cause.
Skin Conditions
The skin rash and irritation you’re dealing with may not be something in your environment that you can affect, but it could be caused by an underlying medical problem. There are a wide range of diseases and medical conditions that skin rashes are a symptom of. These include:
· Hives
· Psoriasis
· Shingles
· Ringworm
· Folliculitis
· Hand-foot-and-mouth disease
If you have one of these medical conditions or something else that is known to cause skin irritation and rashes, but those symptoms are not something you have experienced before, you should definitely let your doctor know. Your condition may be changing, or you may be having a reaction to something in your environment. The medication you’re taking could be having an adverse reaction as well. Always let your doctor know if your medical condition changes, if you are being treated for something. A change in your condition could require a change in treatment, and it could be an indicator that the condition is worsening.
Chemical Irritation
Another environmental factor that can cause skin irritation is a chemical reaction. There may be cleaning supplies, detergents, or other chemicals in your home, work environment, or on your property that cause skin rashes and irritation. If you’ve recently started to develop a rash or itch, try to remember if you’ve made any changes to the kinds of cleaners or chemicals you use.
Maybe you changed your laundry detergent or you use a new fabric softener. The chemicals in that product can cause your skin to be irritated and your eyes to water. You may need to change the kind of product you’re using, keeping in mind that there is likely a specific ingredient in the product that causes the reaction. Try to identify what that component is as best as you can.
Essential oils can cause skin irritation as well. If you recently started using an essential oil you haven’t used before, that’s probably where your rash is coming from. You can either be more careful about using that oil in the future or try to dilute it with some water to make it less potent. You can also try to switch it out for a different oil that has a similar beneficial effect that won’t cause you irritation.
Pregnancy
Did you know that your skin can be very sensitive during pregnancy? There may be some substances and chemicals that cause skin irritation when you’re pregnant that won’t have any effect on you once you are no longer pregnant. If you suddenly develop a rash when you come in contact with a food product or cleaner, it could be connected to a pregnancy sensitivity, and you should stop touching that substance until after you have the baby (or use protective gloves).
There are tons of causes for skin irritation, and we have just looked at a few of them.