On this page
Dr. Chrysoula I. Liakou MD, PhD
- Treated online: Yes, usually. Dry skin is assessed from photos plus video, an emollient plan built, and steroid or other treatment prescribed when the dryness turns out to be eczema or another condition; hot, swollen, cracked skin with fever needs in-person care.
- What it is: skin whose outer barrier has lost water and lipids, becoming rough, tight, scaly and sometimes cracked or itchy; it affects more than half of people over 60 and is worst on the shins, hands and forearms.
- Emollient dose: adults with widespread dry skin need 250 to 500 g of emollient a week, applied at least twice a day and after every wash; using too little is the commonest reason moisturising seems not to work.
- Washing: hot water, soap, bubble bath and long showers strip the skin's oils; a soap substitute, lukewarm water and showers under 10 minutes keep them, and moisturiser goes on within 3 minutes of patting dry.
- Hidden causes: an underactive thyroid, diabetes, kidney disease, iron deficiency, some medicines (diuretics, statins, retinoids) and eczema can all show up as dry skin and need their own treatment, found by a blood test or the history.
- Emergency: call 112 if a spreading skin infection comes with high fever, confusion or rapid breathing, or if most of the body has turned red, flaky and shivery-unwell.
Get in-person care instead if a dry, cracked area has become hot, swollen and painful or is spreading with fever (possible infection through broken skin), or if most of your body has become red, flaky and shivery-unwell, which needs urgent assessment. Ordinary dry, rough, flaky or itchy skin is well suited to a photo and video consultation.
Can an online doctor treat dry skin?
Yes. Clear photographs and a video consultation can often provide enough information to assess dry skin, recommend the right emollient in the right amount, and check for underlying causes such as eczema, thyroid problems or medicines that dry the skin. Blood tests, where needed, are arranged in person.
Honesty matters with this condition: much of dry skin care is self-care, and no doctor should pretend otherwise. What a consultation adds is a correct diagnosis (dry skin, eczema, psoriasis and fungal rashes are treated differently), realistic quantities and product choices instead of a shelf of half-used tubes, and a proper look at why your skin became dry in the first place.
Listen: Dry Skin Treatment Online
The audio version of this topic from the Mobi Doctor podcast. Open the episode.
How an online consultation helps with dry skin
- Finds the cause, not just the cream: age, washing habits, winter heating, wet work and certain medicines all dry the skin, and so do eczema, thyroid problems and diabetes. The plan depends on which is driving yours.
- An emollient routine with honest quantities: most people use a fraction of what works. You leave knowing which texture to use, how often, and how much: usually far more than the label suggests.
- Spots the imposters: itchy crease rashes that are really eczema, scaly plaques that are psoriasis, and ring-shaped patches that are fungal all masquerade as dry skin, and each needs different treatment.
- Escalates when the story does not fit: tiredness, weight change or hair thinning alongside dry skin points to a medical cause worth testing for, and the doctor tells you plainly when blood tests are the next step.
📷 Photograph your driest areas in daylight: shins, hands, arms or face, one wider shot per area plus a sharp close-up of the worst patch so the doctor can see scale, cracks or redness. If any area itches badly or has a rash in the elbow or knee creases, include it, because that single photo can change the diagnosis to eczema.
What the doctor checks in an online dry skin consultation
The assessment is structured, not a glance at a photo. In a dry skin consultation, the doctor will typically assess:
- Pattern and distribution: generalised roughness suggests everyday dryness; shins and forearms in later life, cracked polygon-like patterns, or crease rashes each tell a different story.
- Itch and rash: significant itch with recurring flares, especially in elbow and knee creases, hands or eyelids, shifts the diagnosis towards eczema.
- Washing habits and products: shower temperature and length, soaps, foaming gels and frequent handwashing, all of which strip the skin barrier.
- Environment and work: winter air and indoor heating, hard water, and wet-work jobs such as healthcare, catering, cleaning and hairdressing.
- Medicines: diuretics, statins, some cholesterol treatments and oral retinoids can all dry the skin, and the timeline against any new medicine matters.
- Systemic clues: tiredness, weight gain, feeling cold, constipation or hair thinning point towards an underactive thyroid; thirst and frequent urination towards diabetes; both are checked with blood tests.[3]
- What you have already tried: which products, how much, how often and for how long, because "moisturiser did not work" usually means the quantity or texture was wrong, not the idea.
- Photo quality: daylight, no creams applied for a few hours beforehand, and a close-up sharp enough to show scale; on the video call the doctor may ask you to angle the light across the skin.
What causes dry skin?
Dry skin (doctors call it xerosis) happens when the outer layer of the skin loses water faster than it can hold it, because the barrier of oils and skin cells that normally locks moisture in has been thinned or stripped.[1] The result is skin that feels tight and rough, looks flaky or ashy, and may itch, sting or crack.
Everyday causes
Age is the biggest one: from middle age onwards the skin produces less oil, and dry, itchy shins and forearms become extremely common in later life.[1] Cold winter air combined with indoor heating, long hot showers, soaps and foaming washes, hard water, frequent handwashing and wet work all strip the barrier further. Sun-damaged skin holds moisture poorly, and low-humidity environments such as aircraft cabins and air-conditioned offices dry it out too. Most people with dry skin have several of these stacked together rather than one dramatic cause.
Underlying medical causes
Sometimes dryness is a symptom rather than the whole condition. Eczema is the most common example: the same barrier problem plus inflammation, itch and flares. Psoriasis produces well-defined scaly plaques rather than general roughness. An underactive thyroid slows the skin's oil production and classically causes dry, coarse skin alongside tiredness, weight gain and feeling cold.[3] Diabetes, kidney disease, iron deficiency and the hormonal changes of menopause can all dry the skin, and medicines including diuretics, statins and oral acne retinoids do it as a known effect. This is why a proper consultation asks about your whole health, not just your skin: dry skin that appears suddenly, gets steadily worse despite good care, or arrives with other symptoms deserves more than a bigger tub of cream.
Is my dry skin actually eczema?
Often, yes. If dry skin itches badly, flares and settles in cycles, or produces red, cracked patches in the elbow creases, behind the knees, on the hands or eyelids, it is likely to be eczema rather than simple dryness, and treating it needs an anti-inflammatory step (usually a topical steroid course) as well as emollients. Photographs of the itchiest areas usually settle the question.
The distinction matters because emollients alone rarely calm inflamed eczema, and steroid creams alone do not fix the dryness that drives it: you need both, in the right order. If this sounds like your skin, the eczema page explains treatment in detail, and the same photo-and-video consultation covers it. Two other look-alikes are worth naming: a dry-looking patch with a raised, scaly, slowly expanding edge may be a fungal infection, and moist, red rashes in body folds are a different condition called intertrigo. An undiagnosed rash that does not fit any of these belongs on the skin rash page.
How much emollient do I actually need?
Far more than most people use. For widespread dry skin, guidance used for eczema care suggests adults get through roughly 250–500g of emollient per week, applied at least twice a day and after every wash.[2] A standard 30g tube lasts a day or two at that rate, not a month, which is why small tubes so often "fail".
Texture is the other honest conversation. Ointments hold moisture best but feel greasy; creams balance comfort and effect; lotions feel lightest and do least for very dry skin. The best emollient is the greasiest one you will genuinely use every day, often a lighter cream for daytime and a richer one at night.[4] Apply by smoothing in the direction of hair growth rather than rubbing, use a soap substitute instead of foaming washes, and moisturise hands after every wash. Give a proper routine two to four weeks before judging it: skin that has been dry for months does not rehydrate over a weekend.
Which dry skin treatment might the doctor recommend?
Treatment follows the cause. This is the framework the doctors use, aligned with the cited guidance:[1][2]
Swipe sideways to compare →
| Presentation | Likely first step | Suitable for online care? | When referral or in-person care is needed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rough, flaky or ashy skin without much rash | Structured emollient routine in realistic quantities, plus a soap substitute and washing changes | Usually yes | No improvement after 4 weeks of proper use, so the cause needs rethinking |
| Dry skin that itches badly, with crease or hand rashes | Eczema pathway: emollients plus a time-limited topical steroid course matched to the body site | Usually yes | Widespread infected or uncontrolled eczema, or rashes in young babies |
| Dry skin plus tiredness, weight change, feeling cold or hair thinning | Blood tests for thyroid function and other causes, arranged near you | Assessment online; testing in person | Abnormal results needing examination or ongoing management |
| Deep painful cracks, weeping, or an area turning hot, swollen and red | In-person review; infected fissures may need antibiotics after examination | No | Same day if redness is spreading or you have a fever |
| Most of the body suddenly red, flaky and shivery-unwell | Urgent in-person care (possible erythroderma) | No | Always, without delay |
Not sure which row is your skin? A doctor can tell you in one consultation.
See available times →Treatment options for dry skin
What you can do yourself
Shorter, cooler showers; a soap substitute or fragrance-free wash; patting rather than rubbing dry; emollient within a few minutes of washing, and in proper quantities every day, not just on bad days. Choose fragrance-free products, wear gloves for wet work and cold weather, run heating a little lower, and consider a humidifier in very dry rooms. Pharmacy emollients containing urea or lactic acid gently lift scale on rough shins and heels. What does not help: exfoliating scrubs on cracked skin, alcohol-based products, and very hot baths, however good they feel at the time.
Prescription treatment
A prescription is never issued without a consultation. When dryness comes with inflammation, the doctor can prescribe a time-limited topical steroid course with the potency matched to the body site, alongside the emollient routine rather than instead of it.[2] Richer or higher-strength urea emollients can also be prescribed when pharmacy products are not enough. And when the cause is elsewhere, treatment goes to the cause: confirmed thyroid problems are treated in their own right, medicine-induced dryness may justify a medication review with your prescriber, and infected cracks need examination first. Antibiotics have no role in ordinary dry skin and are only ever considered when there are genuine signs of bacterial infection.
Dry skin in later life, children and special situations
In older adults, dry skin on the shins can crack into a red, netlike, itchy pattern (asteatotic eczema), which responds well to greasy emollients and a short steroid course but is often mistaken for infection.[5] Itch in later life deserves a proper look rather than years of quiet scratching: dryness is the usual cause, but not the only one.[1] In children, mild dryness is common and usually needs nothing more than emollients and gentler washing; itchy crease rashes point to eczema, which is worth diagnosing properly early. Menopause commonly brings drier, thinner skin as oestrogen falls, and winter sports, frequent flying and desert or air-conditioned climates all dry skin enough that travellers often notice it within days. The routine is the same everywhere: protect, moisturise generously, and treat any inflammation on top.
When dry skin is treated online, and when you need in-person care
Treated online: ordinary dry, rough or flaky skin needing a proper routine; itchy dryness that turns out to be eczema, including steroid courses and step-downs; dry skin linked to washing habits, work or climate; medicine-related dryness, coordinated with your usual prescriber; and reviews when a routine is not working after a fair trial.
In-person care: suspected underlying causes needing blood tests or examination, such as thyroid disease or diabetes, where the doctor tells you exactly what to ask for locally; cracked skin with signs of infection; widespread redness with feeling unwell, urgently; severe scaling disorders present since childhood, which belong with dermatology; and any skin change where the diagnosis stays uncertain after photo and video review. In those cases the consultation buys you a clear next step, not another tub of cream.
When to get in-person care
Dry skin itself is rarely dangerous. Get prompt in-person care if a cracked area becomes hot, swollen, painful or starts spreading, especially with fever, because bacteria enter through broken skin. Sudden redness and flaking of most of the body with shivering or feeling unwell needs urgent assessment the same day. If a spreading skin infection comes with high fever, confusion or rapid breathing, call 112 immediately.
Treating dry skin at home: what helps and what does not
Dry skin is largely fixed at home: a thick, fragrance-free emollient applied generously and often, shorter lukewarm showers instead of long hot ones, gentle soap-free washes, and a humidifier in heated rooms during winter.
What home care cannot do: it cannot treat the conditions dryness announces. Dry patches that are red, scaly, well-defined or fiercely itchy may be eczema or psoriasis needing prescription treatment, and widespread new dryness with tiredness, weight change or thirst can signal thyroid problems or diabetes. Skin that stays dry despite weeks of proper moisturising has a reason worth finding.
The strongest at-home treatment is still a doctor. A video consultation brings one to your sofa: an honest assessment, and a prescription to a local pharmacy when treatment is right. You can see a doctor over video, usually within 15 minutes. Book a video consultation: the exact price is shown before you pay.
How Mobi Doctor works
- Book a time that suits you: open daily 7am–11pm CET. You can see a doctor over video, usually within 15 minutes. No subscription, exact price up front.
- Upload your skin photos, then speak to a licensed doctor: a private video call: you describe what you feel, the doctor asks what matters, and you agree the right plan together.
- Leave with your plan: everything agreed before you hang up: your plan, and a prescription to use at a pharmacy near you where medication is clinically right for you. If your doctor decides you need to be seen in person, you get a full refund.
No sign-up needed
Dry skin can have more than one cause. Tick every symptom you have to see each condition page that mentions it. It finds the right page, not a diagnosis: a doctor gives you that on a video call.
Tap the body — an area or a point — to browse symptoms anywhere
Similar symptoms, different condition? Eczema can start the same way. Compare them, or look up any other symptom in the full symptom checker.
Frequently asked questions about dry skin
What causes dry skin?
Dry skin develops when the outer layer loses water faster than it can be replaced: cold dry air and indoor heating, hot showers, soap and bubble bath, chlorinated pools, frequent hand washing, ageing skin that makes less oil, sun damage, and low humidity on flights all strip it. Eczema, an underactive thyroid, diabetes, kidney disease and medicines such as diuretics, statins and retinoids cause dry skin from the inside.
Why is my skin suddenly so dry?
Sudden dry skin usually has a trigger: winter heating, more washing or sanitiser, a new soap or shower gel, a new medicine such as a diuretic, statin or acne retinoid, a dry-air office or flight, or a change in climate. When dryness arrives with tiredness, weight change, feeling cold or hair thinning, an underactive thyroid is possible, and dry skin with thirst and frequent urination suggests diabetes.
How do I know if my dry skin is eczema, psoriasis or a fungal infection?
Simple dry skin feels tight and rough all over the affected area and improves within days of moisturising. Eczema itches badly, flares in episodes and favours the elbow creases, backs of the knees, hands and eyelids. Psoriasis forms thick, well-defined silvery plaques on elbows, knees and scalp. A fungal infection makes a ring-shaped scaly patch with a clearer centre. Photos usually tell them apart.
Can an online doctor prescribe treatment for dry skin in Europe?
Yes, and only after the consultation. Having reviewed your photos and history by video, the doctor prescribes what the dry skin actually needs, which may be a named emollient in a sensible quantity, a soap substitute, or a short steroid course if the dryness turns out to be eczema, and sends the prescription to a pharmacy near you.
How much moisturiser should I be using for dry skin?
For widespread dry skin, adults typically need 250 to 500 g of emollient a week, applied at least twice a day and after every wash, smoothed on in the direction of hair growth rather than rubbed in. That is a large pump bottle every couple of weeks, not a small tube a month. Underdosing is the single commonest reason dry skin treatment appears to fail.
Which moisturiser is best for dry skin?
The best moisturiser for dry skin is the greasiest one you will actually use often enough. Ointments hold the most water in and suit very dry, cracked skin at night; creams balance effect and comfort for daytime; lotions are too light for truly dry skin. Fragrance-free products with urea, glycerin or ceramides help most, and a leave-on emollient doubles as a soap substitute.
Can dry skin be a sign of a thyroid problem or another illness?
Yes. An underactive thyroid slows the skin's oil production and classically causes dry, coarse skin with tiredness, weight gain, constipation and feeling cold; diabetes, kidney disease, iron deficiency and some cancers can also cause dry, itchy skin. The doctor cannot diagnose these from dry skin alone: a blood test settles it, and the online consultation says which tests to have and where.
How long does dry skin take to improve?
Properly moisturised dry skin feels better within a few days and looks normal within two to four weeks, with cracked heels and hands taking longest. It returns within a week or two if the routine stops, so maintenance continues through the dry months. Dry skin that has not improved after four weeks of generous emollient use needs a review for eczema, a thyroid problem or another hidden cause.
What can I do at home for dry skin?
Treat dry skin at home by showering briefly in lukewarm water, washing with a soap substitute, patting dry and applying emollient within three minutes, reapplying through the day and after hand washing, wearing cotton next to the skin, using a humidifier in heated rooms, drinking normally, and protecting hands with gloves for wet work and cold weather. Avoid exfoliating scrubs, perfumed products and very hot baths.
Why is dry skin so itchy, and how do I stop scratching?
Dry skin itches because a cracked barrier exposes nerve endings and lets irritants in, and scratching damages the barrier further, so the itch worsens, especially at night in a warm bed. Break the cycle with generous emollient before bed, a cool compress or cooling menthol cream on the itchiest areas, short nails and cotton gloves at night, and a lighter duvet; a doctor can add a short steroid course if the skin has inflamed.
How can I prevent dry skin coming back?
Prevent dry skin by keeping emollient use going through winter rather than stopping when the skin looks fine, using a soap substitute permanently, keeping showers short and lukewarm, humidifying heated rooms, wearing gloves for washing-up and cold weather, using sunscreen, limiting alcohol and smoking, and reviewing any medicine that dries the skin with a doctor rather than stopping it yourself.
Is dry skin different in older people, in pregnancy or with diabetes?
In older people, thinner skin and less oil make dry skin almost universal, and cracked, itchy shins (asteatotic eczema) need ointment rather than lotion and sometimes a steroid course. In pregnancy, stretching skin and hormones cause dry, itchy skin that emollients manage safely, while intense itch of palms and soles needs blood tests. With diabetes, dry cracked feet are an entry point for infection, so daily foot moisturising matters.
When does dry skin need in-person care?
Dry skin needs in-person care when a cracked area has become hot, swollen, painful or weeping, which suggests infection through the broken skin; when most of the body has turned red, flaky and shivery-unwell; when dry skin comes with fever or a widespread rash; or when generous moisturising for a month has made no difference and blood tests are needed. Everyday rough, flaky or itchy dry skin suits a photo and video consultation.
- Dry skin (xerosis), DermNet New Zealand Trust, reviewed 2024.
- Eczema, atopic: Clinical Knowledge Summary (including emollient quantities), NICE Clinical Knowledge Summaries, revised 2024.
- Hypothyroidism: Clinical Knowledge Summary, NICE Clinical Knowledge Summaries, revised 2024.
- Emollients and moisturisers for eczema (Cochrane Review), Cochrane, Cochrane Collaboration, 2017.
- Asteatotic eczema (eczema craquele), DermNet New Zealand Trust, updated 2024.
- Emollients, NHS, National Health Service (UK), reviewed October 2023.
This page is for information only and is not a substitute for a medical consultation. Guideline links are provided for transparency; treatment decisions are made with your doctor.
Related conditions
More about dry skin from the Mobi Doctor blog
Dry Skin Causes
Dry Skin: What It Is and What Helps Most Dry skin (xerosis) happens when the skin barrier loses moisture and natural oi...
Read article → Health and WellbeingWinter Skin Problems: Dryness, Eczema & Itchy Skin Remedies
How can I stop dry, itchy skin in winter? Cold air and indoor heating strip away natural oils, leaving your skin dry an...
Read article → Health and WellbeingWhy Your Skin Itches More in Winter Causes & Relief Tips
Cold air, low humidity, and indoor heating strip moisture from the skin and weaken the skin barrier, increasing transepi...
Read article →Speak to a doctor about dry skin over video, usually within 15 minutes
Licensed doctors · open daily 7am–11pm CET · exact price before payment
See available times →