Pursuing Proper Skin Care
Theoretically, aging involves a gradual process of the reduction of the body’s tissue to regenerate and to maintain its normal functions. This means that slowly, the body loses its ability to withstand infections and repair itself. Aging is not a disease, but unfortunately it is a certain process every living being undergoes, from maturity onward. Impaired regenerative abilities naturally means that as we age, we tend to suffer from multiple problems, including skin problems.
“The skin is a bodily organ with many components, and it is the primary target of outside attacks. It is meant to protect the inner organs as well. As time goes by, elders start to suffer skin problems, such as thinning, drying, shrinking, and wrinkling due to loss of fatty tissues. The surface of their skins tend to become dull and rough, they bruise easily, and pigmentation occurs. Risk and incidence of problems such as dermatitis (eczema), skin infections, xerosis cutis (desiccation), pruritus senilis (easily irritated due to old age), dermatosis erythrosquamosis (reddening and scaling), keratosis seborrhoic, lentigo solaris (dark spotting), and skin cancer continues to increase as we age,” said dr. Arini Astasari Widodo, Sp.KK, Abdi Waluyo Hospital Jakarta’s dermatology/venereology specialist.