I am miserable. After 3 days of fever that got seriously high, then a rapidly spreading rash, I went to the doctor. Turns out it was strep throat with scarletina, which I guess means all the fun of scarlet fever but without the danger of going blind or dying.
The fever’s pretty much gone. I’ve got antibiotics to kill the strep, and steroids to make the rash go away. I only got them yesterday, and the steroids aren’t working fast enough. 90% of my body is red, splotchy, hot, and itchy. It’s particularly bad on my face, chest, and arms.
I can’t stand it. I’ve got oatmeal soak for my baths, and I’m doing my best not to scratch or irritate my skin in any way. What else can I do? It’s driving me nuts!
(Obviously, I’m not asking for medical advice here. Just home remedies to soothe my skin until the steroids kick in.)
I personally would do whatever I could to get myself to sleep until the medicine kicks in. Any awake time will likely be itch time. I feel for you- I once had an allergic reaction to a spider bite and the itching nearly drove me mad. Nothing helped at all except sleep.
FWIW, I got some Eucerin cream that works great just a short time ago-
http://www.walgreens.com/store/product.jsp?CATID=100949&navAction=jump&navCount=1&id=prod3148959
and that works really well. It’s kind of cool and soothing.
Are you allowed to use calamine lotion?
Sleep sounds like the best advice. I understand that’s when your body does most of its regeneration anyway. Take pills if you have to. Better than being awake and itchy.
You might try taking some Benadryl, or applying anti-itch cream to any particularly nasty itch spots. If you can tolerate anti-histamine medication (both of those have anti-histamines in them), this might provide you with some relief. However, applying topical itch cream to any areas that are bleeding or severely irritated is probably not a good idea.
I am also a big fan of Eucerin products. I use their “Calming Creme” lotion to prevent winter itch, and have used the product that BoBettie linked to on spots on my legs that were irritated due to shaving.
Usually when I experience some unpleasant symptoms that won’t go away or are particularly bad, I ask the pharmacist at the drug store that I frequent what they recommend. The advice is free, and pharmacists are well-versed in why certain medications and treatments work on certain ailments, so they should be able to give you good advice on what over-the-counter treatments work best.
Good luck and I hope you feel better soon! 
Put If I Should Fall From Grace With God on the hi-fi and fantasize about Spider Stacy.
Make sure you’re getting enough fluids in you. This is an excellent time to suck on a Popsicle. Try taking a tepid shower or bath (hot or very warm water will sometimes make the itchiness worse*) and then moisturizing as much as you can. Noxzema skin cream or other cold cream sometimes will cool and soothe itchy skin.
*Other times, by soaking in water almost too hot to stand, the itchiness will go away for a little bit. However, this tends to severely dry out the skin, leading to…more itchiness.