Windburn

Windburn

It seems so unfair. Right in the middle of winter, you find yourself suffering from something as painful as summer's sunburn. But how can you possibly have a burn when you can hardly see the sun at all and the temperature hovers well below 32°F? The reason: windburn.

Despite its name, windburn is actually a skin irritation. But it looks like a burn, because your skin appears red and slightly swollen on some exposed areas of your body. "Wind causes the loss of the oil layer on your skin," explains Norman Levine, M.D., chief of dermatology at the University, of Arizona College of Medicine Health Sciences Center in Tucson. "And when your skin dries out excessively, you get an irritation that looks and feels like a real burn. To reverse the effect of windburn, you need to add that oil layer back to your skin."

So here are some ways to make winter weather less damaging and to take the burn out of windburn.

Put out the flame with moisturizers. "Any type of injury to the skin causes an inflammatory reaction," says John P. Heggers, M.D., director of clinical microbiology at the Shriners Burns Institute in Galveston, Texas. "A moisturizer such as Dermaid Aloe is a good anti-inflammatory." It restores oil to your skin but allows water to evaporate as usual.

Wash on the mild side. Go for mild soaps and cleansers that have moisturizers, suggests Dr. Levine. They leave necessary oils in the skin. Dr. Levine warns against strong soaps that don't contain moisturizers. "The more effective a soap is as a cleanser, the more drying it is," he says.

Gently rewarm the skin. If you treat damaged skin gently, it is more likely to heal quickly, according to Dr. Heggers. Avoid exposing your skin to extreme temperature changes, he warns, and when you come indoors, allow the heat of the room to defrost your body. Don't turn on the heat lamp or stand next to a roaring fire.

Add a little oil. If the burning sensation is too much to bear, rub an oily skin medication on the windburned area, advises Murray Hamlet, D.V.M., director of the Plans and Operations Division at the U.S. Army Research Institute of Environmental Medicine in Natick, Massachusetts. "Vaseline is good because it is heavy," he says. "Chap Stick will work, too."

Elevate it. Occasionally there is noticeable swelling in windburned areas. Dr. Heggers recommends elevating windburned hands and feet while they are being rewarmed to minimalize the swelling.

Wrap things up. Your nose, lips and ears are particularly susceptible to windburn, notes W. Steven Pray, Ph.D., R.Ph., professor at Southwestern Oklahoma State University School of Pharmacy in Weatherford. So wear earmuffs or a woolly hat, with a scarf or face mask to cover your nose and lips.

Block the wind. "The best way to protect yourself from the wind is with a barrier," says Carol Frey, M.D., chief of the Foot and Ankle Service and associate clinical professor of orthopedic surgery at the University of Southern California School of Medicine in Los Angeles. She recommends wearing a shell made from Gore-Tex or other synthetics. Zipping it high over the chin and pulling the hood around your face will shield your skin from that parching arctic breeze.

Know the wind chill factor. The wind chill factor is sometimes more of an indication of the weather conditions than the temperature. As the wind chill sends the temperature plummeting, the chance of injury rises, says Dr. Frey. So check the weather report before you head outdoors for those bracing winter activities.