When it comes to Multiple Sclerosis, problems with the skin becoming
dry and cracking is all too often a problem that can set us up
for getting even more infections than we would other wise.
I found that cracked skin on
the hands or feet can occur very often for those of us with
Multiple Sclerosis, especially in the winter months, and these problems
can become very painful as the cracked skin starts to bleed often.
I have tried all kinds of skin
creams, and all kinds of products that claim that they will help
relieve the dried skin problem, with me ending up with very little
relief to reducing the drying out of the hands and with eliminating the
cracking and bleeding of the skin.
I even tried vitamin E oil on
my skin, which is suppose to be very helpful, but it only helped a
little.
So, I started doing more
research into what can actually cause the drying out of the skin, which
is often much worse during the winter months and I found that there are
a few thing that can contribute to this type of problem.
If we can change a few things,
as far as our daily habits, this can make a huge difference, that is
very noticeable.
First
of all, what can contributed to dried out skin on the hands and feet
and why is this often much more of a problem for those of us with
Multiple Sclerosis?
As far as what
cause or at least contributes to the dried out and/or cracking skin for
those with Multiple Sclerosis, there are a few things that can be
contributing factors.
As far as my MS tips
for reducing the dried and cracked skin, I would have to say that you
need to consider each of the areas below and find ways to eliminate
these imbalances to deal with the underlying cause of what may be
contributing to the dried and/or cracked skin in Multiple Sclerosis.
* Not drinking
enough water daily --- we can often have a habit of
drinking less water during the winter months, since it tends be colder
during the winter months and often we don't want to drink something
cold in the winter.
Often we turn to drinking more
of beverages that we tend to drink hot, like coffee and/or
tea, but these can not take the place of drinking enough water daily.
In my estimation, we should be
drinking close to a half a gallon of water, as a minimum daily to help
us to keep from getting dehydrated and to help to keep the moisture
content in our skin at a high enough level to reduce or even prevent
our skin drying out too much.
* Washing hands often daily -- this is something that often, those of us who have been diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis, have a big problem with.
Since
those of us who have Multiple Sclerosis already have a problem with the
MS weakening the immune system, it is vital that we make a concerted
effort to wash our hands often to minimize infections.
Washing
our hands often, tends to dry out the skin and contribute to the skin
cracking and bleeding, which can result in pain. Finding ways to
minimize or even eliminate the problem that washing our hands often
just adds to often becomes even more of a major problem.
This
problem that washing hands often can contribute to becomes even worse
if you end up having to catheterize because of the effects of Multiple
Sclerosis on your body.
When
you end up having to catheterize, the degree of the risk for infection
increases so much more. Washing our hands often become even more
important after catheterizing. I even tend to use more bleach
and/or castile soap products to reduce my risk of infection even more,
which just contributes more to excessive drying out of the skin on my
hands.
The hydrogenated and partially
hydrogenated fats that are found in most over processed foods, are
difficult to digest and can actually contribute to us not getting
enough of the fats that we need to have in our diets on a daily basis,
since these "bad fats" take the place of us eating more of the "good
fats", often on a daily basis.
* Eating too
many hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated fats from processed foods
-- often it is quicker and easier to eat more junk food or fast food,
but this is really bad for those of us with Multiple Sclerosis to do,
since this increases the number and severity of MS attacks, in addition
to drying out the skin.
The hydrogenated and partially
hydrogenated fats that are found in most over processed foods, are
difficult to digest and can actually contribute to us not getting
enough of the fats that we need to have in our diets on a daily basis,
since these "bad fats" take the place of us eating more of the "good
fats", often on a daily basis.
* Not eating enough essential fatty
acids or the "good fats" to our diet --eating the "good
fats" definitely has been found to help to lubricate and keep
the skin moisturized, in addition to making the skin softer
and more pliable.
"Good fats" are pretty much
liquid oils at room temperature. "Good fats" include olive,
safflower, sunflower, rapeseed, grapeseed and other nut or seed oils
(basically plant based oils). Unfortunately soy oil, which is
contained in many of the processed foods that are on the market, is an
exception to the rule, since often soy oil is liquid at room
temperature, but it can be very difficult for our bodies to digest.
Adding
eating more nuts, like walnuts and almonds or seeds, such as ground
flax seeds to salads, yogurt, oatmeal and other cereals or add to
homemade shakes can help in a big way too. I add ground flax
seeds to oatmeal or salads most days, since this makes a big difference
in how well moisturized that my skin becomes on a daily basis.
Also, many of the oils that
are liquid at room temperature can't handle high heat and are
consequently break down too much when heated. Because extra virgin
coconut oil can melts at a higher temperature, it is solid at room
temperature, unless the room temperature is above 80 degrees Fahrenheit.
One of my MS tips,
which can be very helpful
to you for reducing or even eliminating dry or cracked skin is to
add using extra virgin coconut oil to the food that you eat on a daily
basis.
Extra
virgin coconut oil can handle high heat without degrading the oil.
This means that extra virgin coconut oil can be used to cook with
without reducing its benefits when adding to our daily diets.
Extra
virgin coconut oil is solid at room temperature because it melts at a
higher temperature than the other "good fats" that should be added to
the diet on a regular basis.
On top of being able to cook with extra virgin olive oil, it has been found that this type of oil actually helps our bodies to
be able to digest the other fats that we eat, especially when we eat
animal fats, such as any type of meat fats, or dairy products (such as butter, cheese,
cream and the like).
Extra
virgin coconut oil can also be used directly on the skin to help
relieve the dryness of the skin topically. I often use the
coconut oil directly on my skin, as well as cooking with it or adding
it to hot foods, after they are done being cooked.
* Not Resting or Sleeping Enough daily
-- lack of sleep or lack of rest can contribute to many things going
crazy with the symptoms of Multiple Sclerosis. This can include
making the nervous system become over stimulated and reducing how well
we digest the food that we eat. Dehydration is also more of a
problem when we don't sleep enough.
Have you ever noticed that you need to drink more when you don't get good sleep at night often enough?
Well,
I have found that this is true and it is much better to work with our
bodies to help them to perform better than to over stress the body and
cause ourselves to actually become sicker as a result.
This
is sometimes a tougher one for me, but de-stressing, finding ways to
cut out the added activity before I go to bed and with taking
homeopathics or natural supplements before I go to bed can help to
increase how well I do with sleeping and with helping my skin to stay
hydrated more often and to dry out even less than they would otherwise.
The 5 most important things that we can do for reducing or eliminating the dry or cracked skin for Multiple Sclerosis is:
* Cut out hydrogenated and partially hydrogenated fats
* Add eating more ground flaxseeds and extra virgin coconut oil
* Drink adequate purified water daily (at least half a gallon daily)
* Use extra virgin coconu oil directly on the skin to give more immediate relief
* Get Adequate sleep at night (as close to 8 hours as you cna get each day as a minimum)
If
you do these things consistently each weak (it doesn't have to be every
day, but at least 3 to 4 times each week), then this will eventually
eliminate the problems with the dry and/or cracked skin totally.
The
reason I am writing about all of this is becasue I do all of this and I
have found that this works much beter than anything else that I have
found and tried.
I
started with a severe problem with myall of skin drying out and
cracking within the first year of when I was diagnosed with Multiple
Sclerosis. this works is because this is what I have found that
has helped me by doing these things on a regular basis.
