Beyond a glimpse at seasonal dry skin. A review.

Abstract

peer reviewedOn clinical grounds the so-called dry skin corresponds in reality to a rough sometimes flaky and scaly stratum corneum. The spectrum of xerotic disorders is quite large encompassing diverse etiologies and physiopathological pathways. The clinical assessment of these conditions relies on close visual and tactile inspection. EEMCO guidances were proposed in this field for subject and expert evaluations. Scoring systems include analogue scales, the overall dry skin score (ODS) and the SRRC score combining the grading of scaliness, roughness, redness and cracks. The dry skin extent area and severity index (DASI) is defined for the dermatological evaluation of the entire body surface. The use of a video camera equipped with an internal ultraviolet light illumination unit is very informative and allows better comparative assessments