This is seriously freaky. Since about 6pm last night (it’s 3pm where I’m at now) I have been incredibly itchy. Over my whole body. The whole time. I scratch and scratch and the itch merely migrates. And it’s getting worse. Now for some reason my right elbow is not merely itching but actually stinging. And it’s not due to my scratching my skin off there. At least not yet.
AFAIK I’ve never had any allergies except hayfever, which only ever screws with my nose and eyes. And it’s February fer chrissakes.
What the holy living funk is going on?
Does anyone have any advice to offer (apart from ‘go see a doctor’ which I shall do if there’s no improvement by tomorrow morning)? I think being naked for the rest of the day might help. However it would also get me fired :smack: damn social mores.
Heh. I got the itchies last night. I was sitting at the computer, with backscratcher blissfully at hand (best $1.00 I ever spent) but my arms and legs and sides were itchy, too.
I ascribe it to a change in the weather from very, very rainy to cold, clear and dry, for me at least.
Well, 2 of the ads I see are for dog-itch remedies. You’re human, right? woof once for yes, twice for no ::d&r::
Definitely check with the doctor if this doesn’t get better. OK, even if it does get better. In the meantime, put a lot of thought into whether anything has changed - have you been someplace new? eaten something unusual? changed your laundry detergent? Are you on any medications? These are all questions the doctor will be asking.
Oddly, the cayenne cream might theoretically be helpful. I don’t know the mechanism, but it’s used in treating pain and itching is supposed to be very closely related to pain. I wouldn’t suggest you try it until you’ve discussed with the doc though - I’ve heard it is irritating.
A hot shower might give relief also, though depending on the cause of your itching, it’s possible it would be a bad idea. My Restless Legs occasionally manifests itself as itching inside the feet (as in, scratching with anything less than a Garden Weasel doesn’t get to it) and the only relief is to run the hottest water I can stand over them. Short-circuits the nerve signals, I think. Don’t do this after using cayenne cream (cringe) - I speak not from my own experience but from that of others who have done this :eek:
It’s February. That means the relative humidity in your home (and at work, and all the other heated environments you inhabit) is at an average low for the year. So, your skin is dry.
Get some baby oil, or some Aveeno, or some such lotion, and do this. After you shower, before you towel off, rub the oil or lotion over your entire body. Then dry off as usual. Make it a habit.
Thanks for all the replies. I realise it could be dry skin from particularly cold and dry weather, but I’ve never had this before and I dunno why it would suddenly decide to bother me.
I do wonder now if it’s an allergy… I’ll have to find out whether the washing powder’s changed by, er, asking my mum.
In any case I’ll stop by the pharmacy after work and ask them if they’ve got any cream to zap my nerve endings a la Darkman. Well I’ve always wanted to be a shadowy and psychotically disturbed comic book hero, and this is really the last piece of the puzzle. :dubious:
Itching could also be caused by a problem with your liver or gallbladder, there is no harm in seeing your doctor for some simple blood tests.
I threw out the seeds/stalks etc of some chillis I’d put into a curry, then the next day accidentally dropped my wedding ring into the bin and fished around for it, before remembering what was in there. Spent the whole night washing my hands and putting vaseline on them in an attempt to stop the burn from the decomposing chillies. It was not a fun time, you have my sympathies.
Absolutely no medical training whatsoever here. I can only tell you what worked for me.
I had a very tingly/itchy condition in my hands a few years ago. And yeah, it was downright painful. Scratching it only helped temporarily. There were no visible hives or other symptoms (except red marks from where I scratched). I couldn’t attribute it to anything different that I ate, and I don’t believe that I was stung. Damned if I know what caused it.
I tried a little research on the Internet, and the symptoms seemed to be a histamine reaction. So, I went to the drugstore and got an anti-histamine. In my case I got Benadryl. I’m trying to remember from back then, but I think that Benadryl may make you sleepy, and Allegra will not (which you want if you are driving or at work), but Benadryl is considered to be more effective. Sorry, to not be more sure about this, it was a while ago. Anyway, the itchiness went away within an hour or so, and didn’t come back.
I have no idea if these are right for you. Check with the pharmacists to see if antihistamines are okay for you, if they conflict with any medical conditions or medications.
I second the antihistamine. Anytime I’ve had an intense, stinging itch, it’s always been an allergic reaction to something. It’s entirely possible you may have developed an allergy to the laundry detergent or the soap you use. But try an antihistamine first and see if that helps.
Yes. This is not raspberry enough but it’ll have to do.
Having said that, the painkillers I sometimes use have codeine in them, which is an opioid. A medic friend mentioned that you can get itchy if you have a lot of them, but I don’t think I’ve had any for a month, and I don’t think I’ve ever felt itchy when I have had them. Not like this anyway.
is not raspberry enough but it’ll have to do.