The Toll of Dry Weather on your Body?

[PoppySead]

Originally Posted by christiner81

i feel like it's easier to adapt to dryness than humidity. old injuries feel better here, etc.

i put coconut oil on my skin in the shower. feels good, smells good.

I'll have to steal that coconut oil idea from you. Sounds awesome! I love the smell of coconut.


OP: Keep some oil, I use baby oil in the shower. Before you dry off use it, it will trap the moisture into your skin. Saline spray is great, and pumis stone your feet once every couple of weeks.
Humidifiers are great as well, that way you can have the amount of moisture you desire and not let mother nature hand you too much.

I wouldn't trade the dry weather, I can't take to much humidity I'm use to the desert life. It's great on vacations when I run to Cali for some sea but I am glad when I get home.

Plus, no earthquakes, monster tornados or hurricanes makes us relaxed.

[azriverfan.]

Sorry but some of the responses are laughable and inaccurate as usual. People have different skin types. People with oily skin tend to do well in Arizona. People with pre-existing dry skin tend to suffer. But the supposition that everyone has dry skin and will suffer in Arizona is classic City Data stupidity.

There are plenty of people that prefer the dry nature and they don't suffer from acne like those with oily skin who live in humid environments. So please people stop with the generalizing. No, we don't all wear lotion to bed every single night.

Furthermore, if you are someone who exercises regularly, showers after your workout and applies lotion (which you would do regardless of where you live in the country), you won't suffer a lot of problems.

[Upstate Nancy]

I never had dry skin till I moved here. But, skin moisture tends to decrease for every birthday, too. So, that's another factor to figure in.
But, yes it's dry here and your skin will be drier than living in another environment or a humid one. Heels are the spots you have to work on.My hair and nails are really dry, too. Sinuses same. Summertime my skin improves. Never had an issue with allergies till I moved here either.This is my experience. It can be different for other people.

[WannaBeWisco]

It really does depend on a lot of factors, most of them physiological. It's excruciatingly dry here and don't let anyone tell you otherwise. Our only humid period is Monsoon. You admitted you quickly got dry skin, lips and nose with blood when you blew your nose. That's just from a visit. Imagine feeling like that every single day of your life here. It's not going to get better. You don't "climatize" to that. You can get used to the temperature (though I still haven't even after being here almost 20 years), but you don't get used to the symptoms of dry weather. All you do is develop strategies to treat the symptoms.

In my case: I am perpetually dried out no matter how much water I drink during the day. My lips chap. My skin is always dry and flaky except on my face where I regularly still break out despite the dry air. My nose is always dry and congested. I never had allergies until I moved here. Last year I found out I had Atopic Dermatitis...another problem I've never had to deal with. And for the poster who said oily-skinned people are okay here...I AM an oily skinned person...it doesn't improve anything.

My spouse and I have to keep two humidifiers running almost 24/7 especially over winter when we can get as little as 10% humidity or less so we can breathe and sleep and even those don't do much for us. We might be able to get those rooms to 32% humidity. I haven't been able to smell properly since I've lived here because my nose is always so dry.

Ironically though, when we went to Wisconsin a few years back on a trip, we both felt 100% better. I didn't need to put on a drop of lotion the whole time. We could breathe. We could smell. Our sinuses didn't bleed and our allergies were non-existent except for my spouse's grass allergy, but even then it wasn't even half as bad as it gets here. As a result we're working towards moving there in a couple years or so.

My recommendation: If you can, try spending a more extended period of time here and see how you fare. Visit over a few different seasons to get a feel for the weather and see how it affects you. For me it's not worth all the extra crap I have to do to feel comfortable. I can't stand the heat, the dry, the lack of rain or snow. I can't enjoy the outdoors. So there's no pay off for me here for the work I have to do just to be comfortable enough. But that might not be the case for you, so experiment with it for a bit before committing.

[Valley Native]

Different strokes for different folks, as the old saying goes. Not everybody has the same hair, skin, body, or tolerance for a dry climate. The dryness is usually not easy on those with dry, chapped skin, fine hair, or a condition called Sjogrens Syndrome. Sjogrens isn't caued by a dry climate, but the effects are much worse in a climate like this. It also tends to affect older people more, so that's something else to keep in mind.

Lots of seniors over the years have retired in Arizona because of the sunny, warm, dry climate ... only to find that their health either doesn't improve or becomes worse as a result of the dryness. Many people simply don't take very good care of their health ... they allow themselves to become dehydrated by not drinking enough water, they spend too much time in the sun & increase their risk for skin cancer, and they hike mountain trails in the heat of the day which increases their risk for heat stroke. Needless to say, they're not the brightest bulbs in the lamp.

Also, according to the averages, Arizona isn't dry all the time. We have two periods during the year when it can actually be quite humid and stormy. Those seasons are winter and the summer monsoon. Unfortunately, this winter and last winter have been much drier than average ... hardly any rain in the lower elevations, and limited snow in the mountains, which can lead to other serious issues (fires, water shortages, etc.).

[TootsieWootsie]

Mine doesn't, but a friend said her skin just gets itchy and dry here.
I do drink 8 glasses of water daily at least (and maybe she doesn't), so that may be why I stay non-itchy; but wondering if others are having a problem with their skin here?

[pandaundercover]

Well, not really in my experience. Hot weather = sweating, which makes you physically the opposite of dry. Although becoming dehydrated will be more common, and it'll 'dry' you out physiologically. Either way, I've found I get more "dry" in cold weather. Even when we have our 3 months of cold weather out here (in the 40-60s), the skin on my hands dry out pretty bad from the cold water and cold in general, and all the lotion in the world won't fix 'em. It only goes away as it gets warmer out.