Whether floods, heat waves or fires, scientists believe that these extreme weather events would be harmful to dermatological health.
- 84% of French people have consulted a dermatologist during their lifetime, according to the White Paper of the French Society of Dermatology.
- 80% of people report having two skin diseases.
16 million French people suffer from skin diseases, according to the White paper of the French Society of Dermatology. And this figure could increase further in the coming years, according to a study published in the journal The Journal of Climate Change and Health.
Weather events are more frequent and severe
Researchers believe that extreme weather events, such as heat waves, floods or even fires, which are increasing both in frequency and in severity, would be a major threat to dermatological health. Indeed, climatic events could be linked to certain skin diseases.
To reach this conclusion, the researchers analyzed the results of more than 200 studies related to skin diseases and climatic conditions. “We wanted to provide dermatologists and other practitioners with a comprehensive overview of extreme weather-related skin diseases as a basis for patient education and implementation of preventive therapeutic interventions.explained Eva Rawlings Parker, lead author of the study in a communicated. We were very surprised by the extent of the impacts that extreme weather events had on skin diseases“.
Extreme weather conditions linked to skin infections
First, scientists observed that flooding was linked to bacterial and fungal (i.e. caused by fungi) infections of the skin and the development of dermatitis. According to MSD-Manualthe latter can be defined as a “inflammation of the superficial layers of the skin characterized by pruritus, blistering, erythema (redness), edema and often oozing, crusting and scaling”.
When it comes to fires, exposure to smoke from wildfires can trigger – or increase – the risk of suffering from two skin diseases: acne and atopic dermatitis, also called “atopic eczema”. Health insurance defines the latter as a chronic inflammatory disease of the skin, non-contagious, responsible for itching and evolving in flare-ups.
Finally, if the heat wave episodes are repeated and long, the skin may have difficulty regulating body temperature. Thus, some people can therefore have “hot strokes” which, for the most serious situations, can be fatal. Researchers also believe that high heat increases symptoms and the risk of suffering from skin disease in general.
Skin diseases and climate: who are the most at risk?
At the same time, the researchers also wanted to understand which populations were most vulnerable to extreme weather conditions. Results: children, pregnant women, the elderly, those suffering from mental illnesses, racial and/or ethnic minorities, low-income people and migrants would be particularly vulnerable to climate-related skin diseases. They note that black, Hispanic, and low-income populations, for example, are more likely to live in areas at high risk of flooding.
“Clinicians, policy makers, conservationists and researchers around the world need to be fully aware of the current and future disruptions that climate change and extreme weather events pose to human health.”, concludes Eva Rawlings Parker, like a call for change.