Severe Arm Itching

[Tasha39073]

Ok, I am amazed at the number of people who seem to have the EXACT same problem as me!  I thought I was alone!  This is the most INTENSE itch that I have ever experienced... I have had this for years now and it seems to come and go... The itching for me is on my left arm from my elbow to my wrist.  I am going out of my mind with this itching. I have scratched the top layer of skin off and it's horrible.  Like everyone else, cold packs work but only while it is still cold.  I have found one thing that strangely seems to cure it.  I found this only by accident as i was being treated for post partum depression after my baby was born.  Prozac!!! Not sure what is in it that seems to make it go away but if it works. If Prozac is working on me it seems that this truely is a nerve disorder, but still not sure why it is just on one arm.  Since I don't have insurance and I took my last Prozac last night after saving it for a year, please keep posting sudjestions on how to get rid of this!  I am seriously going out of my mind.  I don't know what else to do! And for all of you that keep going to different doctors to find a cure, ask them about Prozac. I hope that one day we can find a cure...

[Makingitby]

I have bn on Prozac started 20mg for a month see some change in my flip mode I'm able to deal with day to day better without exploding . I take gabatentin at night with clonidine 0.2 mg I get to sleep faster and stay sleep till about 4am but getting rest and I'm told by friends that's meds for bipolar . I wasn't told that but was for depression it's helping me a lot anyone can tell me what's going on with me or do I need to go see a different dr my right arm itch like crazy and now I've scratched black soars just about in every part of my body

[Makingitby]

I have bn on Prozac started 20mg for a month see some change in my flip mode I'm able to deal with day to day better without exploding . I take gabatentin at night with clonidine 0.2 mg I get to sleep faster and stay sleep till about 4am but getting rest and I'm told by friends that's meds for bipolar . I wasn't told that but was for depression it's helping me a lot anyone can tell me what's going on with me or do I need to go see a different dr

[eeh4652]

I started the exact itching on my right arm when pregnant with my second child.  It is mainly on right arm elbow to wrist and yes I too can itch the skin right off!  Drs are dumbfounded since there is not a rash to see to explain the itching!  I got some hydrocortisone with aloe at the dr and put it in the fridge.  It helps some!  most annoying!  don't know about prozac??

[LShalloway]

The reverse is true for me.  I've been on Prozac for awhile and my BRP symptoms have WORSENED, not improved.  

[Bhupinder Kaur, MD]

Hello,
Well, your symptoms are typically suggestive of brachioradial pruritis. Brachioradial pruritis is an intense itching sensation of the arm usually between the shoulder and elbow of either or both arms. The itch can be so intense that sufferers will scratch their own skin to a bleeding condition.
The main cause of BRP is not known but there is evidence to suggest that BRP may arise in the nervous system. BRP may be attributed to a neuropathy, such as chronic cervical radiculopathy.

No cure has been found. The only thing that seems to help most sufferers is the application of ice to the area until the itch is diminished. Other treatments include cooling lotions like those containing camphor or menthol, capsacain or local anesthetic creams, amitriptyline and gabapentin tablets and electrical cutaneous nerve field stimulation.

It is very difficult to precisely confirm a diagnosis without examination and investigations and the answer is based on the medical information provided. For exact diagnosis, you are requested to consult your dermatologist. I sincerely hope that helps. Take care and please do keep me posted on how you are doing.