Skin Deep: Beneath the surface of Alaska skin conditions.

• Author: Bohi, Heidi
• Position: Healthcare

When Jenny Vanderbilt was first diagnosed with eczema at the age of ten, the clinic nurse in Seward told her mother not to worry about the red, flaky patches on her beautiful daughter's face and recommended an over-the-counter topical lotion for the dryness and itching.

For years, the chronic skin irritation was a reminder to Vanderbilt that another harsh Alaska winter was on its way. Although the condition never got worse, she says, over time, what started as a winter reoccurrence became a year-round frustration, with the chronic condition showing up at varying times and in different spots including her neck and back.

When she moved to Anchorage, where winters are colder and dryer than in Seward, Vanderbilt's condition worsened. She quit mentioning it at doctor appointments because her condition never changed.

"It's not that big of a deal," Vanderbilt has been told over the years. Changing seasons and the environment could be contributing to the condition, dust and increased pollen levels are often an irritant, it could also be hereditary--these are some of the explanations she has been offered by nurses and physicians over the years.

Now twenty-eight, she subscribes to one of the most common explanations: 'And it doesn't help that you live in Alaska." In the meantime, Vanderbilt continues to try a different assortment of soaps and drugstore hydrating and anti-itch creams for flair ups, doing what she can to drink water and eat more fruits and vegetables to counteract her condition.

From the Inside Out

About 82 million Americans experience some form of dry, itchy, or scaly skin during the winter months. Of these, almost half are affected by eczema, also known as atopic dermatitis, which is one of several common, inflammatory skin conditions that the Alaska medical community sees regularly.

While cold, dry weather conditions such as those that exist in Alaska can irritate the skin and contribute to chronic skin conditions, the healthcare community barely mentions topical creams when it comes to recommended treatments. Instead, providers agree, prevention and treatment begin from within; whatever is going on externally mirrors what's going on in the body internally.

"Skin is like the tip of an iceberg--putting lotion on is just holding the symptoms down, but under the water is something bigger that you're not seeing," says Robert Torrey Smith, an Anchorage naturopathic doctor. "Symptoms should be seen as an opportunity to identify chronic...