I have very itchy legs. Couldn’t say why, but it’s annoying as all get out. There’s nothing visibly wrong with my legs, except for the bright red patches where I’ve scratched too much. My legs are itchy whether I’ve shaved recently or not, whether my skin is dry or not, sometimes on my thigh, other times on the calf, sometimes all over, in the day, at night, all year long; there’s no particular pattern. But it’s driving me crazy!
I have more than once subconsciously scratched so much I’ve broken the skin. I used to wonder why I’d find random scabbed over scratches on my legs without remembering how I got scratched. Now I know I’m doing it to myself. Did I mention how irritating this is?
One of the symptoms of diabetes is itching. Do you have increased thirst and urination? Are you hungry, eating lots, but losing weight? If you are, it’s time to see your doctor to see if you have diabetes.
Or you could be sensitive or allergic to something. My mother has all kinds of skin allergies, and only uses a certain brand of laundry detergent because she is allergic to several other kinds. I’m sensitive to dogs, if I pet them my hands itch horribly.
Moisturizing is your first step. Pat (don’t rub) your legs to “barely damp” and then gently apply a good quality skin moisturizer. You might have to dampen your legs and moisturize them a couple of times a day.
I thought it might be dry skin, too, but I’ve used different types of lotions and still had the itchiness. I haven’t tried medicated lotion (Gold Bond), though. That might be an worth a try. Allergies could be possible, but why just my legs? Why not my arms, torso? I’ve only recently developed seasonal allergies, due to local air quality.
I’ve have a mild case of eczema on my face at the hairline, forehead and nose. I used to get topical steroids for it, but I hated them. I’ve found I can keep it pretty well under control with a good moisturizer, but I haven’t seen it elsewhere. But the skin on my legs doesn’t scale and flake the way it does on my face. It looks pretty normal actually.
Hopefully, once I get settled after our move, I can get insurance and a referral to a dermatologist. I just wondered if anybody has suffered from itchy legs.
Funnily I was thinking about starting a thread about exactly this.
In my case it is only on my calfes (calves?).
The rest of my skin is fine which should rule out an allergic reaction.
I have the same thing on the top of my forearms that comes and goes. I’ve found that heating the area with a blow dryer both satisfies the itch and abates it for a while.
I had this problem a few months ago and thought it was dry skin since it was winter. I was scratching so much I was breaking the skin as well, and it was just annoying.
Hubby n I were trying to figure out what it was. New detergent - no, new lotion - no. I washed everything and vaccuumed everything around the house, but still was having issues. We then started to think about other stuff I use: lotion/body wash etc. I was a heavy user of cocoa butter during and after my pregnancy, but I wondered if it this giving me a problem. There was cocoa butter in the lotion and my body wash. My hubby suggested maybe I was allergic to it - but why now?
So I went cold turkey with lotion and got a new body wash without shea or cocoa butter in it, and a few days later I stopped itching. Everything seems fine now, I even put a lil bit of cocoa butter on the other day and didn’t have any problems, but now I try not to do overdo anything with cocoa/shea butters in it.
*On a related note, I had a doctor ask if I was itchy when trying to diagnose what she thought was a thyroid problem. (It wasn’t a thyroid prob)
My husband gets this only on his shins all the way from his ankles to his knees, but only on the front, not on his calves in the back and never higher than the knee… it is not dry skin and he doesn’t have any allergies we are aware of. It comes and goes, but when it is itchy, he scratches himself raw and nothing seems to help. His skin doesn’t otherwise look abnormal. He has tried stuff like Gold Bond to no avail. It tends to be bad for a week to ten days, then lets up, sometimes for months. It has happened in the fall, in the summer, in the winter, so it doesn’t seem to be related to anything that is weather cyclical.
I have no solution for you - just letting you know you are not alone.
Ah, thanks! Your husband sounds just like me only mine is not so localized. It does tend to be cyclical in that it’ll really bother me for a few days or weeks and then let up for a few weeks. I wonder if it has anything to do with stress, although mine has gone down considerably in the last couple of weeks, while the itchiness has returned. I agree, it’s definitely not seasonal. It’s bad when you get it on your shins or your forearms, I think because the bone is closer to the skin which tends to make persistent scratching break the skin sooner and slightly deeper.
lunar elf, I don’t use anything with cocoa or shea butter in it, to my knowledge. I checked the lotions I’ve used recently and they do have coloring and fragrance in them, so that might be something to check out. But I haven’t lotioned up recently because if I do it when my legs are already itchy, it makes them even more itchy.
I know where you can order custom lotion for reasonable prices without dyes or fragrance, cocoa butter or shea butter (although this one is harder), so if you’re interested, let me know - I can send you a link.