I have an aunt who is 94, who is having increasing trouble with her skin getting irritated and itchy. Which she then scratches, often causing lasting red marks and even actual blood-oozing scrapes/tears. Basically her skin has the strength and elasticity of sodden tissue paper.
She sees her doctors frequently, and none of them are concerned with this in particular. “Old skin is fragile” they say, and she should treat it gently, like washing very gently – no scrubbing away! – rinse the soap away thoroughly, gently pat dry and STOP SCRATCHING.
Yeah, it makes perfect sense, except she’s old and set in her ways (I’ve ALWAYS used a loofah! I HAVE to rub to get my skin clean!) and we all know how hard it is to not scratch when it itches.
While shopping today I noticed a display of Johnson & Johnson baby shampoo/body wash, and remembered all the ‘no more tears’ no irritation ads I’ve seen over the decades. Is there any reason it wouldn’t be good to try it as her soap? It’s got to be as gentle and mild as a soap can be.
Okay, that mildness might be a drawback in cleaning, but it’s not like we’re talking about a stable boy or an auto-mechanic. She’s a mostly housebound woman who is exposed to some ordinary household dust/food residue/possibly dander from her pet cat.
I think at least giving it a try to see if it left her less itchy might be good – but not if there’s some clear problem I’m not seeing. Anyone know?
If she would prefer a bar, they also have it in bar form. Just don’t let her see the price-it’s more than the strip the skin off your body stuff she’s used all her life but it will be more gentle. The real need, of course, is to convince her to ditch the loofah and the scrubbing.
Maybe substitute the loofah with a soft, gentle washcloth, along with the gentle soap. That might give her a similar tactile experience that she’s used to.
I might also suggest looking at products from Aveeno – most of them are made with colloidal oatmeal, and are meant to be soothing to sensitive/irritated skin. I know that, when my wife got chicken pox as a 30 year old, and was itchy beyond belief, it was recommended that she use an Aveeno bath product.
This may be bigger than we appreciate. Her sensation of her own skin is probably crap. So she’s scrubbing ever harder to have the same subjective feeling of action on her skin. Meantime her fine control of her own hands ain’t what it used to be either.
Having somebody professional who’s experienced with this stuff watch her bathe herself might be real informative.
Another possibility would be a product free of perfume / fragrance / parfum / essential oils (not oils in general just essential oils). It might be different in an elderly person, but what you describe (irritation, itch, bleeding tears in the skin etc) can be a sign of an allergy or sensitivity.
If you try perfume-free you would need to change all soaps, shampoo, dish-wash liquid, laundry detergent etc for up to a month before you notice a difference (give the skin time to heal and replace).
Second the idea to find a colloidal oatmeal product. Also might help to apply an aloe or other soothing lotion after washing. Dryness could be contributing to the itch.
If she needs to scrub a washcloth may not satisfy her. If so, there are other products with the word “scrub” right on them that are less likely to tear skin that a loofa is.