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Symptoms, Their Causes & Cures: Skin Itching

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Skin Itching

WHEN TO SEE YOUR DOCTOR

* Your itching flares up when you take prescribed medications.

* Your itching is intense or persists more than two days, especially if your family history includes diabetes or kidney disease.

What Your Symptom Is Telling You

If only all itches came once every seven years. . . . But almost everyone itches occasionally, and some people itch almost constantly.

Itching is notorious as the most common symptom of allergies, says Glenn Kline, M.D., an allergist and assistant clinical professor of pediatrics at the University of Texas at Houston. Very often, itching is a solitary symptom of allergy—at first. Only the "itchee" knows it's there because it's invisible. But scratching an allergic itch will often awaken a rash or hives.

"The really tough cases are patients who are chronically itchy but have absolutely nothing to see on the skin," says Ivor Caro, M.D., a dermatologist and associate professor of medicine at the University of Washington School of Medicine in Seattle. That's when doctors start sleuthing for possible internal causes for this maddening type of itch, such as stress or overproduction of certain hormones.

Other common causes of itches: insect bites and stings, parasites, such as chiggers and scabies (teeny mites that burrow into the skin), dry skin and damp or tight clothing.

Symptom Relief

Only kings and queens should itch, because it feels so good to scratch," Dr. Caro quotes from an ancient Chinese saying. It's okay to occasionally revel in a glorious scratch for a passing itch—like the one that nips your ankles when you peel off tight socks. But, says Dr. Kline, the agonizing rule of thumb (and thumbnail!) for scratching is a firm "Try not to." Scratching will make the itching worse and could open the skin to infection, he says. Fortunately, scratching is not the only way to deal with itches.

Cool it. Take a cool shower, Dr. Caro suggests. Or apply cool compresses: Ring a towel out in cool water and lay it over itchy areas for five to ten minutes. The evaporating water will cool and soothe the itch, he says.

Soothe it. Lotions that contain menthol or camphor—such as Prax, which is a topical anesthetic—are very cooling and soothing and tend to take itch away, says Dr. Caro.

Bathe in breakfast. A cool or lukewarm oatmeal bath will often ease all-over itching. Specially prepared, premeasured packets of powdered oats with added bath oils like Aveeno are easiest to use (and to clean up afterward). "It's very soothing and satisfying for itching that comes from dry skin," says Dr. Caro.

Don't let histamine have the upper hand. Ignore the call to scratch insect bites and stings or other allergic urgings by rubbing them with ice until the itch dies down. Then enlist oral antihistamines, such as Benadryl, Dr. Kline advises. Beware of topical antihistamines, such as Benadryl cream, though, and products whose names end in "-caine," benzocaines, for example. They can cause allergic skin reactions and may compound your problem.

Calamine is fine . . . at times. Calamine lotion—a famous itch beater—is best for weepy, blistery itches, such as poison ivy. But if your itch's origin is unknown or is caused by dry skin, calamine's drying action could make your itch all the more itchy, says Dr. Caro.

Stay cool. "Itching is made worse by heat," says Dr. Kline, and it could aggravate allergic reactions. A few ways to cool the heels of an intense itch: avoid hot water, sun worshipping and overheating exercise.

Keep it loose. Loose cotton clothing is the garb of choice for itch-prone people. Clothing that hugs your sensitive curves, as well as irritating fabrics like synthetics or wool, can really keep you itching. If you simply must wear wool, invest in cotton or silk underthings to keep it from getting too close for comfort.

See also Hives; Rashes

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