ORIGINAL PAPERS
Assessment of level of knowledge and society awareness concerning reasons for dry skin, prophylaxis and care possibilities

Introduction: The skin is one of the largest organs of the human body and performs a series of functions, including maintenance of proper moisture and protection against transepidermal water loss. A common skin complaint is its constitutional or pathological dryness that evidences damage and/or decrease of epidermal barrier efficiency. It can occur in every person, regardless of age, sex or initial skin type, but it increases with ageing. Both exogenous and endogenous factors cause dry skin. Aim: Verification of respondents’ knowledge concerning causes of dry skin, prophylaxis and care possibilities. Material and methods: 125 persons were analysed. The project was based on a questionnaire which consisted of 23 specific questions. The mean measures were used to describe study results statistically. Results: About 26% of surveyed persons considered their skin as dry, but as many as 66.4% of 125 included in the study observed symptoms of dry skin. Surveyed persons did not identify risk factors of dry skin, to which they are exposed during daily life, with potential causes. Respondents had a problem to connect dry skin occurrence with concomitant diseases, professional work, stress, improper diet and applied drugs. Skin moistening was the most popular answer to the question concerning dry skin care. There were no observations confirming positive effects of using procedures and advice applied by cosmetologists, the need for a dermatologist to diagnose the problem, or supplementation or use of protective gloves during daily home activities. Conclusions: Despite the fact that dry skin is a common problem in our society, this questionnaire study showed that respondents’ knowledge concerning causes of dry skin and prevention possibilities in the form of proper care is definitely unsatisfactory.