University of Delaware
Office of Public Relations
UpDate - Vol. 16, No. 18, Feb. 6, 1997
Rating system to predict dry skin conditions

     If dry, winter skin is making you itchy and scratchy, help
is on the way.
     Dermatologists, toxicologists and a UD weather expert have
teamed up to create the first scientifically calculated index of
conditions that create the perfect atmosphere for pruritis
hiemalis-dry, itchy, winter skin.
     Now, Americans throughout the country can find out what the
dry, itchy skin index is in their area and take proper
precautions to avoid the pain and itch of severe dry skin when
the index is high.
     "When relative humidity inside drops to particularly low
levels, dry, itchy skin problems often result," Laurence
Kalkstein, geography and UD Center for Climatic Research, said.
     "The new index calculates the relative humidity inside the
typical heated home by using meteorological information from
outside. Atmospheric moisture content is relatively equal inside
and outside the house during the winter, but because the house is
heated, relative humidity is much lower inside," Kalkstein
explained.
     These conditions create the perfect environment for dry,
chapped, cracked, red, itchy skin-particularly in young children,
the elderly and people with hypersensitive skin, according to
dermatologist James J. Leyden of the University of Pennsylvania.
     "It is not uncommon for indoor relative humidity to drop
below 20 percent, especially during cold weather," Stephen C.
Pennisi, director of product safety and scientific support at
Combe Inc., makers of Lanacane Anti-Itch Cream Medication
products, said. "In fact, depending on the type of heating system
people have, it's possible to have indoor humidity falling below
10 percent. Considering that the humidity of the Sahara Desert is
15 percent, it is no wonder that skin begins to flake, itch and
crack, looking like a parched, desert floor."
     Pennisi is director of the Lanacane Itch Information Center,
and the new index is officially known as the Lanacane Dry Itchy
Skin Index. It uses special software developed by Kalkstein and a
rating scale, developed by Pennisi.
     The index can be accessed daily on the UD Center for
Climatic Research web site and includes a color-coded map of the
United States showing areas prone to dry, itchy skin conditions.
     The site can be reached at
http://www.udel.edu/SynClim/scl.html. The information also will
be reported on Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday mornings between 8-9
a.m. on the Fox News Channel.
                                          -Beth Thomas