last year I started to notice that If a mosquito bites me I keep the memory and the itching of it for days sometimes months.
before the summer I started to have urticaria near the ears , but it came from two bites of mosquitos. it does not stay in the same place but it goes around in the area.sometimes its so itchy that I cannot sleep sometimes its not annoying. the only thing that helps its cold pads, cortisone cream does not make any difference and the same for antihistaminic.
two weeks ago I had to make a 48 hours holter so they put me the stitches for the electro things. I had to remove them many times because of the itching and now after 10 days I have the round marks as if I was burnt and it itches like heck. anybody else have that skin sensitivity?
I would see your rheumatologist and perhaps a dermatologist.
I have Dermatographic urticaria. Anything touching my skin leads to hives. You can see where my clothes touched my body, even the texture of the fabric. When I get a bug bite I get a huge wheal that remains itchy for a long time and it takes months for the redness to slowly fade. I turn lobster red after water touches my skin from a bath or swimming. I also got huge wheals when the dermatologist was testing me for allergies and injected water as a control.
Perhaps you have Dermatographic urticaria too? The only thing I?ve found helpful is a huge change in my diet to eating an anti inflammatory diet. In the meantime antihistamines might help.
thanks Sky, I have been yesterday to the dermatologist. my trouble looks like yours but is less dramatic.its like my skin has the memory of the bites or of anything that gave me itching. yesterday I was really desperate, even cortisone cream does not help much, in fact the best I van do is to put cold wet pads on the itching. to day was a much better day, all of a sudden no itching. just this evening without doing anything, without changing clothes or position, some itching started again. I put some antihistaminic cream and now its better. I will have the patch test next month. I am very careful with what I eat, I am eating blueberries and I read that it could be one of the culprits
I think you might find antihistamine more effective than cortisone sometimes.
Hi Bluegardenia,
I have been corresponding with honeybee regarding this crazy itching/skin sensitivity. Just when I think I'm the only one (every time I have a new set of symptoms)....I go on this forum...and there is someone experiencing what I am! First of all, I know I am not losing my mind, secondly I am not alone. Also, maybe someone may figure out what this is and how to treat it, and it could benefit us all. I do have the extreme itching and sensitivity issues (for longer than I care to think about). Just this past year, if I got one small bug bite (which I didn't even feel when it happened), I would get a giant welt in the area that would last for a good week and drive me crazy with the itchy-ness! Just when I think I have had to hit the limit of problems...lo and behold...another sneaks in! I did take antihistamines at the time and used cortisone cream and the antihistamine did take the edge off. The other systemic itching...that's a different story..don't know why I have it and nothing seems to help. I did see a dermatologist, but they knew nothing about autoimmune issues and just wanted to treat the problem like it was a basic contact dermatitis. Starting some new meds soon, and hoping they help with ANY of my symptoms, ANYWHERE with my body ::)
Here's some of the other things I do - maybe they might help you.
I take lukewarm showers, not hot - just warm enough to be comfortable but not hot.
Take showers every 2-3 days, if you sweat a lot from exercise, you can rinse off with just a water only shower, no bodywashing, just let the water rinse off sweat. Of course if you were mud wrestling and filthy, do take a lukewarm shower to body wash. No soaking in a bath.
I only use detergents on my body that are the least irritating - no perfume, scents/fragrances, no irritating chemicals. I like Paula's Choice or Vanicream or Aveeno. No bar of soap because it's more irritating - best to use a liquid detergent on a loofah or wash cloth.
Rinse well and gently pat dry. If you use a body lotion, look for one with no perfume, scents/fragrances, no irritating chemicals.
I wash my clothes in all Liquid Laundry Detergent Free Clear for Sensitive Skin or Costco Kirkland's version - no perfume, scents/fragrances and I add an extra rinse.
All the cleaning products in my house are no perfume, scents/fragrances and least irritating ingredients and I wear gloves when cleaning.
By being gentle with my skin and careful with my diet I can minimize the itching. It also helps with my psoriasis and eczema. Hope this helps you.
Hi Skylar,
I am doing all of the things you mentioned. I started all that when my sense of smell starting going haywire. I do not sweat, so days in-between showers is fine. Regardless of all my efforts...I still itch. Some days are more severe than others, so I try to live with the hope that someday, it might just go away. You mentioned diet? For the itching, or other Sjogren's issues? Thanks so much for your response, I appreciate it :)
Lorigacc, I use Dr John Mcdougal?s diet. I put most of my health issues into remission including things like fibromyalgia and most of my skin issues eating this way. I also didn?t need most of my medication and I?m not running around constantly to medical specialists they way I was before I started eating this way.
I did have to follow his elimination diet to figure out a few foods that most people can eat that I react to such as gluten (celiacs) but also corn and rice.
By reducing the inflammation, I still have the OA damage to my joints but I rarely experience any pain which is so nice. It didn?t make a difference to my dry eyes or dry mouth...they are still dry. But my allergies , bronchitis and asthma that I had since childhood disappeared and I no longer take any medication for allergies. So the diet definitely helps most health issues it doesn?t fix everything.
Thanks Skylar,
I will definitely look into this. I do know I need to make some changes, but tend to be the type of person to start with small changes at first. I just stopped eating red meat, and am hoping to make more changes when I am ready.