Itchy Legs after showering or swimming

[dalbs]

I have been experiencing extremely painful itching in the legs, which starts about 10-15 minutes after getting out of the shower and will last about 15-30 minutes. It started out by happening occasionally but now it occurs after every shower and has started happening after getting out of the swimming pool. The itching is getting more intense and I'm afraid that it will continue to just get worse and last longer.  Water is the only thing so far that triggers this.  This is not a topical or dry skin itch, it's like my nerve endings are going wild inside my legs.   Nothing seems to relieve the itch, it just has to "run it's course".  I've tried different lotions, not using soap, not shaving my legs, warm water, cold water, not drying off, change the floor rugs.... nothing makes a differnce.  I found where this problem had been discussed on this forum a few years ago but no one seems to be able to find a solution. Is there anyone out there that has found a solution to this every painful, unexplained problem?

[Mildflame]

Wouldn't putting pj's on straight away be putting them on your wet legs? that would surely have to be uncomfortible!
and if would make your pj's wet

I don't get what everyone is calling a "survere iching" because i have had somthing silmalar for the last year but the itch is only annoying, not so much painfull.
It lasts me 30 mins to get over it (depends if i move around alot, if i move alot it stops quicker) but only starts as soon as I dry off.
I still havn't found what stops it for me exactly but I was begining to believe that it may have had somthing to do with the hairs and sweat building up on my legs because if the shower is too hot i sweat. I do somtimes have the same problem when I get out of a pool and thought maybe there was a small bug in the pool that was biting my legs. I am 14 and don't want to put up with it my whole life, my mum thought it may be the water or chlorine in it... going by the chlorine build-ups in the shower heads that quickly come back.
Two things that help me though is walking around after the shower once i'm dressed and holding the ichy spots not hard but just resting my hand on it tends to numb it up!

[Itchnomore747]

To everyone that has gone through this HORRIBLE ordeal and have felt like you needed to be committed to a mental institution.... I found help!!! I cant count all the creams and techniques that I have tried NONE of them worked with any kind of regularity. I finally found a dermatologist that took me seriously and did some research.... He couldn't really tell me WHAT was causing it but he DID give something to help.. The previous posts on here that were saying that this problem was circulatory related were right I guess. He prescribed me Propranolol, 10 mg to take 20 to 25 minutes before I shower. He said he had read research that suggested that Beta Blockers would be effective... And lo and behold... I popped my pill, took my shower and held my breath.....I cried... But for the first time it was because I DIDN'T itch!!! That was 5 years ago... Like so many of you mine does come and go....After I was on it a couple of months I tried a shower without my meds...I didn't itch so I went off of them. I went for 2 years without it at all, then when i started itching, I went back on it...Ive been going back and forth ever since....So to all my fellow sufferers.....call your doctor!

[blondetemper]

I didnt think a bout the effect of hot water but its very true. In the past weeks i have been taking hot showers but i slipped up this morning, i used cold water to wash of my legs without thinking.

[sharing73]

Try an epson salt bath, heavy on the epson salt and soak for as long as possible and then either rub or use a bath brush and take off all the dead skin.  If you do this at least twice a month it will eliminate the problem.

I believe stress might trigger this, and lack of B Vit's.  After reading all the posts I have come up with this conclusion.  Stress causes the body to use up Vit B and if one is not getting enough of the B's this condition is a result, one of many.

I have experienced this condition all my life, growing up I suffered and through my early and late 20's I still suffered.  I started changing a few things and looking back over the past 8 years I have only had episodes very seldom, and it was thinking about it when I neglected the Vit B and the epson salt baths and was not drinking enough water...

So to recap, VitB's (also gets rid of restless leg syndrome - one should also look at calcium intake as well) and epson salt baths.

Hope this helps you all because it is really an awful thing to go through and the feeling of stress/fear before having a shower to get clean and not wanting to dare using soap on your legs!!
Please try this.

[zuf78]

I have this since my 18, over 15 years, irregularly, sometimes worse. As all of above, I have been searching, asking for help everywhere. I see interesting that many of us developed independently similar ways help the way out.

My symptoms:
- itchy legs after any shower, esp. morning.
- itchy arms - only sometimes
- starts in 5 minutes after drying
- bath is OK
- ANY type of water ignites itchy legs
- NO significant help when changing the lotion/soap - I tried almost everything on the market.
- NO difference if I'm tan or not
- cold water is worse than hot.

As I have read all posts since 2008 :-) I feel it has something to do with missing minerals (possibly magnesium). I'm heavy coffee addict, I try to drink adequate amount of water, but I think I could do better. So it is symptom that the body is missing something.

I started drinking way more water, have a caffeine pause and I can recommend the tip above with really HOT SHOWER at the end and get quickly dress up. I think the hot water "drug" the nerves for the crucial period of time so the itch is overloaded by hot.

[consta]

i had the same problem and actually still have it sometime!! a while ago, it really could get me to cry cuz of it, but now i have found a small solution for the problem and that is to take showwer with a very warm water, and the problem is fixed!!! i still have problems with my legs, but not that much, it is just because of me, i am not showering them so much with the warm(almost hot) water!!!
JUST TRY, IT CAN REALLY WORK!!!!