HELP- itchy skin and bruising

[sm_sea]

For the past 2 months I have had really itchy skin, especially on my legs. I itch all the time and I am also bruising easily. My legs have been covered with bruises (spots all over) for the past 2 months. I think that I am giving myself the bruises by itching my skin so hard, but I usually don't bruise easily.

I am not taking any medications and as far as I know I do not have any allergies. I have also not changed any soaps or detergents or my diet. The only thing that has changed is that I moved about 3 months ago and am living in a different climate now. However, I moved from Utah (high altitude and zero humidity) to Florida (High humidity) so I wouldn't think that that would cause dry skin or anything. But I don't really know.

I have been to my family doctor and he ran a bunch of blood work but everything came back fine. I just wanted to know if anyone knows what it could be before I go to another doctor.

Thank you for your help

[Bhupinder Kaur, MD]

Hello,
The various causes of itchy legs need to be probed thoroughly. It can occur due to dry skin, cholinergic urticaria, frequent use of hot showers and soaps that dry the skin, contact dermatitis to the texture of cloth, stasis eczema, fungal infections and restless leg syndrome. However the causes of easy bruisability need to be investigated. Anemia and deficiency of vitamins C, K, B12, or folic acid are the common causes of easy bruisability.Try taking iron tablets and multivitamins for some days and see if the symptoms improve.

If the symptoms do not improve, get yourself evaluated by a physician and look out for SLE, bone marrow disorders, liver diseases or leukemias. Also consult a dermatologist for the itchy legs and get the diagnosis confirmed from the various possibilities explained above.
Hope it helps .Take care and please do keep us posted in case you have any additional queries. Kind regards.

[Nicole0619]

Hi,
I have the same problem with itchy skin and bruising.  The doctor diagnosed me with Chronic Urticaria (Hives) about 6 years ago and the brusing seems like a more recent issue for me.  My skin gets irritated easily and my bruises seem to last a very long time.  I went to the Dr about it and they said that all my bloodwork came back fine, etc.  

I personally feel that something is not right because I can have bruises that lasts several months.  Even when the Dr diagnosed me with the hives I was a little skeptical because they were running so many tests and couldn't figure out what was wrong or what I had.  Finally, he came to his conclusion but I felt like they just threw my condition in a category because it was difficult to diagnose.  Anyway, I now take Zyrtec and you can take Clariten as well, which are allergy meds that seems to help.....

[JcGarcia0390]

I'm 18 years old and I do have the same problem and I can't find the treatment or what it is called. I see this post is posted back in 2009 but if you read this can yoi tell me more about this?