Aa
incredibly itchy skin after shower/shaving- pls help!
Hi:
I know itchy skin doesn't sound like a big problem, but my legs and arms itch like they were about to fall off everytime I take a shower. I don't have dry skin and I use Aveeno body lotion everyday to make sure I get enough moisture. The itching is like an intense tingling only on my arms and legs (mostly on my legs) and it's so bad that sometimes I just want to run yelling into the street. The itching usually goes away within an hour after taking a shower, but it happens all of the time. I hope that someone can give me some advice as to how to fix this problem...itching can drive a person crazy!
Thanks everyone.
I know itchy skin doesn't sound like a big problem, but my legs and arms itch like they were about to fall off everytime I take a shower. I don't have dry skin and I use Aveeno body lotion everyday to make sure I get enough moisture. The itching is like an intense tingling only on my arms and legs (mostly on my legs) and it's so bad that sometimes I just want to run yelling into the street. The itching usually goes away within an hour after taking a shower, but it happens all of the time. I hope that someone can give me some advice as to how to fix this problem...itching can drive a person crazy!
Thanks everyone.
Really think that if i take another shower or bath i am going to go flippen mad crazy! The itching is just to intense, i cant take it any more! Have tried about every thing to stop this and nothing seems to work. Hot, cold inbetween water temps doesnt matter i still itch. Tried every kind of soap and tried going with out. Some one please help!!!!
I've had the same problem since I moved to California over 20 years ago from Chicago. I also noticed that when I travel some time it doesn't happen. I thought it was mental or my nerves and doctors said it was hot water. The only thing that helps are products with a cooling effect like menthol. I use a cheep product called anti-itch cream medicated. It has menthol 1.0 % and pramoxine hydrochloride 1.0 % . The cooling over powers the itch long enough to knee me from loosing it or until it stops. My itching last about 45 minutes.
To all of you i highly recommend going off all wheat/gluten!!! I had this condition for years and it lifted after about a month of 100% gluten free! I have tried a few times eating gluten over the years and it comes right back! It also can be a yeast or fungus in the skin ...this can be tested by a doc through skin testing...
I itch so bad when I get out of the shower that I want to peel my skin off, I am soooooo miserable and become very angry when this happens. I have noticed that when I itch, it just makes it worse. I like the comment to shower at night and/or put on the TV to distract from the itching. However before I get out of the shower I rinse off in cold water, because for me the hot shower is what triggers it. I did not know that moisterizers can make it worse, I am going to have to see if that is the case for me as well. I just want to know what causes it, and the fact that my doctor has no idea is VERY frusterating. Being this miserable before I even start my day is horrible.
I have the same problem from about mid-August to late November every year for about 6 years or so. It gets progressively worse every year. It's only on my arms and legs. It is such torture. I would rather feel pain than this kind of itching. It happens every morning after my shower. I find it passes fastest if I take a Claritin before I shower, shower in tepid water, shave, and apply lots of Gold Bond's Healing lotion to my arms and legs while I'm still soaking wet. Then I give my legs plenty of time to dry. I don't let a towel come near my arms or legs. I also take a while to open the bathroom door- because sometimes that temperature change can set off the itching. Yesterday the itching started out of the blue in the evening. I had run out of Claritin and hadn't taken one that morning. It was so bad that I actually cried, took 2 Benadryl and even got a Xanax from a friend. Then I did my shower remedy all over again. This calmed it down enough for me to go to the store to get more Claritin for this morning. I had to take one more Benadryl to get to sleep and slept with a pillow between my legs. This is such a frustrating problem because no one understands what torture severe itching can be and there are no visible signs on the skin. I am a healthy 24 year old female with no other medical problems or allergies. I don't know what to do but suffer until December. I'm pretty sure a doctor will just throw another antihistamine at me and tell me to use lotion, but I'm considering seeing one anyway.
I've read this entire blog and no one has had MY PROBLEM dealing with major itchy wet skin. For those that have a rash, this does not apply.
When I visited a dermatologist and described the problem, she diagnosed the condition as Aquagenic Urticaria. I followed up with my allergist who put a sponge on my arm for over 10 minutes. Indeed my arm was itching like crazy, but no rash was present. He said, "You don't have Aquagenic Urticaria. If NO rash is present, it is NOT a urticaria (an allergic reaction to a substance). There is something else going on."
For over two years, I was severely itching when bathing, showering, sweating, getting rained on, putting lotion on, anything that wet my skin (arms + legs). I dreaded the fact that I had to maintain clean hygiene with what I thought was an allergy to water. I explained to friends that when soaking in a tub, it felt like 100's of bugs were biting me which got more intense the longer I stayed in the water. And shaving!! Oh my goodness. I would take a knife blade to my skin afterwards - scratching. The one thing that helped was sitting in front of a fan rubbing Gold Bond Shea Butter in until it flaked off.
Here was my problem.
If you constantly intake diet products with Aspartame, this could be the source of the itching.
Aspartame chemically breaks down into a couple toxic chemicals (methanol + formaldehyde) and also in the mix is formic acid. Formic acid is the sting that bees and fire ants give off. That was when I made the connection -- bugs.
Therefore, this is a chemical reaction through the breakdown of Aspartame, and not an allergic reaction that causes a rash. My research lead to this conclusion: the chemicals of (1) Methanol (2) carbon monoxide (3) sodium form = methyl formate. Hydrolysis of methyl formate produces formic acid.
[see >>> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Formic_acid <<<]
In layman's terms, here is the bio-experiment going on. Methanol is in aspartame. We breath carbon monoxide in the air which is called pollution. We intake salt all the time in our food. Add water, and it feels like bees or fire ants (which is the itching).
Also Read:
"side effects" by Dr. Janet Starr Hull
http://www.sweetpoison.com/aspartame-side-effects.html
"The most dangerous substance added to foods"
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2011/11/06/aspartame-most-dangerous-substance-added-to-food.aspx
When I visited a dermatologist and described the problem, she diagnosed the condition as Aquagenic Urticaria. I followed up with my allergist who put a sponge on my arm for over 10 minutes. Indeed my arm was itching like crazy, but no rash was present. He said, "You don't have Aquagenic Urticaria. If NO rash is present, it is NOT a urticaria (an allergic reaction to a substance). There is something else going on."
For over two years, I was severely itching when bathing, showering, sweating, getting rained on, putting lotion on, anything that wet my skin (arms + legs). I dreaded the fact that I had to maintain clean hygiene with what I thought was an allergy to water. I explained to friends that when soaking in a tub, it felt like 100's of bugs were biting me which got more intense the longer I stayed in the water. And shaving!! Oh my goodness. I would take a knife blade to my skin afterwards - scratching. The one thing that helped was sitting in front of a fan rubbing Gold Bond Shea Butter in until it flaked off.
Here was my problem.
If you constantly intake diet products with Aspartame, this could be the source of the itching.
Aspartame chemically breaks down into a couple toxic chemicals (methanol + formaldehyde) and also in the mix is formic acid. Formic acid is the sting that bees and fire ants give off. That was when I made the connection -- bugs.
Therefore, this is a chemical reaction through the breakdown of Aspartame, and not an allergic reaction that causes a rash. My research lead to this conclusion: the chemicals of (1) Methanol (2) carbon monoxide (3) sodium form = methyl formate. Hydrolysis of methyl formate produces formic acid.
[see >>> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Formic_acid <<<]
In layman's terms, here is the bio-experiment going on. Methanol is in aspartame. We breath carbon monoxide in the air which is called pollution. We intake salt all the time in our food. Add water, and it feels like bees or fire ants (which is the itching).
Also Read:
"side effects" by Dr. Janet Starr Hull
http://www.sweetpoison.com/aspartame-side-effects.html
"The most dangerous substance added to foods"
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2011/11/06/aspartame-most-dangerous-substance-added-to-food.aspx
3 Comments
Look up polycythemia vera. My mom was just diagnosed with this. My son also has the crazy itching and a lot of symptoms that go along with this disease.
You changed my life with this aspartame information! Thank you!
You changed my life with the aspartame information. Thank you!
Have an Answer?
You are reading content posted in the Dermatology Community
Learn to identify and prevent bites from summer’s most common pests.
Doctors argue for legislation to curb this dangerous teen trend in the latest Missouri Medicine report.
10 ways to keep your skin healthy all winter long
How to get rid of lumpy fat on your arms, hips, thighs and bottom
Diet “do’s” and “don’ts” for healthy, radiant skin.
Images of rashes caused by common skin conditions
