I seem to be suffering from a weird problem, lately. I play five-a-side football on a Thursday, then go rugby training shortly afterwards. Thursday night, for the past few weeks, I’ve been unable to sleep due to all-over itching.
The itching starts on my shins, then slowly envelops my whole body, particularly my arms, the top of my back and legs. I can alleviate the itching somewhat by lieing on top of the covers and cooling myself down (heat seems to be a factor - having a warm shower the morning after causes me to itch, too), and the itching lasts two days at most. The itchiness is incredible - it can’t be ignored.
I intend to see a doctor next week, when I return home, but what sort of conditions are a possibility here?
Unfortunately, the answer will probably not be found here. Itchy skin can have several different causes- eczema, allergies, dermatitis (of which there are many forms and causes), dryness, fungus and yeast, internal problems like a thyroid imbalance, nerve problems, etc. The most common thing in the winter is probably “winter itch”, which is pretty much dry skin, but I don’t know how dry your climate is. Is the doctor you’re going to see a dermatologist?
The fact that it happens after physical activity could just be due to the increased circulation and not necessarily related to the condition.
You could be itching from exercise-induced urticaria. This is a fancy way of saying exercise makes you itch. Duh. You don’t have to have hives; it can just be itching.
You will also want to make sure you are not getting any new external exposures–clothing; laundry detergent; shower soap; football turf;a new beer at the pub post-game…the list is endless and only you can decide what it might me.
Itching is mediated through substances like histamine, so it’s common to use anti-histamines as the first line of therapeutic agents.
Like anything else in medicine there are oddball causes for nearly everything, so make sure you follow up with the doctor. She is going to want to consider all possible new exposures, and also whether anything besides exercise makes you itch. The warm shower is just releasing histamine, btw.
I get this quite often, especially on warm days when I’m sweating quite heavily. I think my problem stems from being slightly allergic to grass. All the tackles cause tiny grass cuts, similar to paper cuts. Even just laying on the pitch can do it to me, also. Might I suggest a shower after your workout, to get all the grass residue off of you. If you wait until morning, you’ll get used to the itching that was there, and then the water will wash the grass oils back into your pores and those small scrapes.
Sometimes this happens to me when I’m playing racquetball, too. In that case, a scent free lotion tends to help. That problem is caused when dry skin pores and the like are moved to allow the sweat glands to excrete.
In summary, shower right after you’re done with practice, and try some lotion. If your skin is really dry, the lotion might burn the first few times. Hope this was of at least a little help.