You know how when you sit on a hot sidewalk for too long, suddenly you get that deeeep, painful itch? Scratching doesn’t help, because it’s too deep, but you scratch anyway? That’s what this feels like. It’s happened in the past, but right now it’s driving me crazy. My feet itch like mad. Scratching doesn’t help. Hot or cold water, either, or lotion, or athlete’s foot stuff, or anything else I’ve tried so far. My feet look fine–no redness or swelling, no flaking or funkiness.
I think it’s a nerve-ending thing, because sometimes my palms itch at the same time. This time it’s just my feet.
I’ve also had a migraine, or something damn close to one, for two days. That’s finally better, after a trip to the chiro.
So: allergy? something in the water*? stress? headache-related?
Any ideas, short of foot amputation (I’ve already considered it), welcome.
Best,
karol (now my palms kinda itch too)
*Seriously. Our water here varies tremendously, and while I can’t actually smell it now, sometimes I do think it causes me to have some systemic reaction.
Standard not-a-medical-doctor, go-see-one disclaimers apply in case it’s something serious, but I have the same problem in hot weather. No visible reason for itch. What helps is soaking my feet in ice water for a while. But I don’t know why.
Itching like this can be a symptom on Type II diabetes. It’s what sent me to the Dr. after I found out my stepdad experienced the same thing. Headaches too. I was only borderline when I was diagnosed, but the symptoms were there.
Hmmm. Is it like you want to slap you feet together, but it doesn’t help?
I remember my dad having the very same symptoms, but I don’t think ever had any workup done. Wouldn’t surprise me me if he didn’t have diabetes, though.
Sometimes it was the top of my feet, most of the time, it was the bottoms. A deep itch that a quick scratch with my fingernails wouldn’t touch. I’d take after them with a hairbrush I’d relegated to that very purpose. It would drive me crazy at night lying in bed.
I don’t check my levels as often as I should, though I usually keep them pretty well managed though my diet, but occasionally, if my blood sugar goes haywire, it’s one of the first things I notice. The itch-ies, and my water consumption goes way up.
I thought of this - sometimes when I’m trying to sleep, my RLS manifests itself as severe itching that scratching will not touch (I basically have to stick my feet under the hottest water possible - almost to the point of burning - to make it stop) but
as in, it got better with rest, would seem to contradict that.
Standard advice though - if it persists, see a doc.
See, this is where I got off the train. Why would you sit on a hot sidewalk in the first place? And why would you sit there so long that you’d call it “too long”? Not to dismiss the medical concerns here, but this is vaguely reminiscent of the Billy Crystal routine where he says, “I hate when that happens.”
Well, with little kids, I tend to spend a lot of time sitting and looking at ants and whatnot. And kind of like a sunburn, you don’t feel it until it’s too late. Then you have a hot leg or bum with a deep itch that isn’t helped by scratching. It goes away after a few minutes, but the point is, it’s a deep itch, not a surface rash or anything.
Has this really not happened to anyone else? I’m really light-skinned, and I may be more susceptible to it.
You know how foundation comes in different colors? The lightest shade of several brands is darker than my skin. I’m probably one of the fairest people you could hope to meet, and have sat on sidewalks during the summer too, but I have never had what you’re saying happen to me. I really don’t think it’s a fair-skinned thing, but *do * worry it might be a symptom thing. I hope you’ll take folks advice and mention it to a doctor.
There’s a place here in town that gives free blood sugar tests, I think. I’m going to check into it. I work part-time at the hospital too, and they may have low-cost tests for employees–not sure about that one. I’ll keep everyone posted if I find anything out.
I can’t say why your feet itch so badly but wanted to say I had a similar problem with the palm of my left hand, on the lower outer aspect of that palm. Out of the blue, I’d suddenly get a ferocious itch there, not on the surface but underneath it. It was terrible and no amount of scratching would stop it, it would just feel warmer the more I scratched at it. In a short period of time, an hour or two, I’d suddenly start getting solid little bumps there. The itch would continue and eventually the bumps seemed to join together into a solid bright red raised area. This problem would last for 2-3 weeks, then would disappear as fast as it came. At one point, I went to a dermatologist when I was having the itchiness but even though she biopsied the area, the results came back with no definitive diagnosis and nothing she prescribed would stop the itch. After several years, the problem disappeared as suddenly as it had come on and I have not seen it since-probably 15-20 years now. Still have no idea what it was.
They’ll want to do a blood draw twice, (if they don’t, find another doctor.) Once whenever you come in and again after you have fasted for 12 hours. Good Luck!
Mumio, my palms itch too, just the same way my feet do. That’s why I wonder about the neurological angle.
And I do seriously wonder about the water here. You can smell it sometimes–a couple of times a year there’s a musty odor when you turn on the tap. The water company says it’s still safe, and I believe it is, but it’s possible that they’re changing the treatment chemicals to deal with the levels of whatever happens during the rainy season. At any rate, I’m also developing skin itchiness–not really a rash, but I’ll get welts if I scratch or rub my upper shoulders/back. Very strange.
I’m applying for the Indiana health plan for poor folks, so maybe once I get on, I can get some answers for all of this, including the damnable headaches.
That sounds an awful lot like hives; I had the exact same symptoms and my doc prescribed Claritin, which fixed the problem. I still get them occasionally when I eat too many strawberries, like I’ve been doing lately.
I spent 5 agonizing years figuring this one out. Read all forums all over the web, tried everything. The itch was deep in my feet and toes,and made me wana dig holes in them. I am sooooooo happy. Hope this may be your cause, and maybe it will help you too. Doctors were no help at all. Recently, I quit taking Aleve,which is naproxin, for my arthitis and inflamed joints. Within 2 weeks, my feet were cured.
One hopes that papergirl has found some relief for her problem in the five years since she posted her question. Our current practice is to move threads on medical advice to IMHO, but since this thread is so old I’m going to close it. Anyone seeking further advice about itchy feet can open a new thread in IMHO.
I hope you’ll take folks advice and mention it to a doctor.