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Rough, scaly skin happens to everyone occasionally. Cold weather leaves your skin dry, and a good moisturizer usually does the trick. But when those patches stick around for weeks or months, it’s time to try a different approach.
At Hines Dermatology Associates in Attleboro, Massachusetts, Yvonne Hines, MD, and our clinical team can figure out the causes of your persistent rough patches and how to treat them.
Several conditions cause rough, scaly skin. Some clear up quickly while others stick around for years without proper treatment. Common causes of dry patches include:
Contact dermatitis happens when something touches your skin and triggers a reaction — new laundry detergent, nickel in your watch, or a plant in your yard. Red, itchy, rough patches show up wherever the contact happened, and they usually clear up once you figure out what caused the reaction and avoid it.
Eczema causes dry, thick patches that flare up and calm down over time, usually in the same spots. Cold weather and stress trigger it, and it tends to run in families alongside asthma or allergies.
With psoriasis, your skin cells multiply too quickly, causing thick, scaly patches that crack and bleed.
Decades of sun exposure leave rough, sandpaper-like spots on areas that see the most sun — face, ears, hands, forearms. These precancerous lesions can turn into squamous cell carcinoma without treatment.
Basal cell and squamous cell carcinomas sometimes look like rough patches that bleed, scab over, and never quite heal. They can change size or color as time goes on.
Some people are more likely to develop these conditions than others. Factors that increase your risk include:
People who’ve spent years in the sun without protection see actinic keratosis and skin cancer more often as they age.
You don’t need to rush to the dermatologist for every dry patch, but certain symptoms deserve quick evaluation, including:
Getting these symptoms checked early makes treatment easier and more effective.
Dr. Hines examines your skin and asks about when the patch appeared, what makes it better or worse, and your overall health. Effective treatment options may include:
Corticosteroid creams and ointments reduce inflammation and calm irritated skin. They come in different strengths depending on where the patch is located and how severe it looks. Calcineurin inhibitors work well on sensitive areas like your face, where long-term steroid use isn’t ideal.
Ultraviolet light therapy slows down skin cell production and reduces inflammation. This works well for widespread psoriasis or eczema that hasn’t responded to topical treatments.
Oral or injectable medications target your immune system when topical treatments aren’t enough.
Skin cancers and some stubborn actinic keratoses need to be cut out. Dr. Hines removes the growth and sends it to a lab to make sure all abnormal cells are gone.
Rough patches don’t always go away on their own, and guessing at the cause wastes time and money on treatments that don’t work. Dr. Hines can identify the problem and recommend effective treatment.
Call our office in Attleboro at 508-222-1976 today or book your appointment online.
