Ichthyosis vulgaris or fish scale disease is a genetic skin disorder that causes dead skin on the body to accumulate in the form of thick dry scales on the surface. They appear at birth or even develop in early childhood. It may also appear at times during adult life. This skin anomaly ranges from mild to severe with a darker skin tone and the appearance of scaly skin. In normal skin, every 24 hours, new skin cells are formed at the base of the epidermal layer. The new skin pushes towards the surface, flatten, shrink and die. This is a continuous process. In Ichthyosis, the production of the skin cells happens too fast or the natural process of shedding skin is too slow. In either of the cases the dead skin accumulates on the surface of the skin and start resembling fish scales.
However, there is a possibility that you are just experiencing a lot of dead skin accumulating on the surface of the skin. This can be caused due to harsh soaps or detergents or frequent bathing. You should scrub your skin with a loofah while bathing. You must be gentle when scrubbing your skin. You can also take half a cup of sugar and mix it with any cold pressed oil such as olive or coconut oil and mix thoroughly. Gently massage this scrub all over the body. The sugar acts a scrub while the oil moisturizes the body. Lightly soap all over your body and then rinse. This can be repeated twice a month. This process of exfoliation is also helpful with the use of natural fruit scrubs. You can also take 100 grams of sea salt and mix it coconut or olive hair oil. You can also add your favorite fragrance oil into the mixture. Mix it thoroughly and keep it in an airtight container. Use it on slightly wet skin and scrub it gently in upward strokes. Wash off with water. You could also just use some salicylic acid, which is actually a face wash, as a body wash.
The diet should also include a lot of Fruits like custard apple, papaya and honey every day. It keeps the skin supple and glowing. Lots of water also helps flush out the toxins from the body and keeps the skin well moisturized internally. Always keep a little moisturizer handy with you all the time as well so that you can re-apply lotion at the portions which start drying and itching.
answered by M W